A referendum on the issue of building a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Kazakhstan has been held. According to the results of the Central Referendum Commission (CRC), over 5.5 million people (71.12%) voted in favour of building the NPP.
The referendum process went ahead without any disruptions or incidents and proved to be one of the most well-organised in recent years. This is evidenced not only by the statistics, but also by the fact that opponents of the NPP were unable to identify any serious violations.
When information about the potential harmful effects of the NPP on the environment, economy, and geopolitical position of Kazakhstan was being spread in the media and social networks, opponents of constructing the nuclear power plant omitted the fact that there are currently 439 nuclear power reactors in operation worldwide, with a further 64 under construction.
Furthermore, 96 of these reactors are located in the USA, 61 in France, 54 in China, 31 in Japan, 26 in Russia, and 25 in South Korea. Opponents of the NPP probably prefer to overlook these facts and focus instead on Germany, which abandoned nuclear power. However, Germany now buys electricity from its neighbours, and it is quite possible that it will soon consider building a nuclear power plant.
Against this backdrop, the question arises: if global powers and developing countries continue to bet on nuclear energy, why should Kazakhstan be left out?
For the record, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has repeatedly noted that the construction of a nuclear power plant is a particularly important economic and political issue. The head of state assured that the final decision on building the NPP would be up to the people. In this regard, he proposed settling the matter through a national referendum.
Over the course of a year, public discussions were held in all regions of Kazakhstan regarding the potential upcoming construction of the NPP, during which eminent scientists explained in detail and in an accessible manner the benefits of nuclear energy, the safety level of modern technologies, the principles of operation of a nuclear plant, and so on.
On the day of the referendum, Tokayev expressed his opinion that the nuclear power plant should be built by “a consortium of world companies using the most modern technologies”. With this statement, the President likely dismantled the arguments of NPP opponents, who had assumed that “Rosatom” had already been chosen as the project contractor and that Kazakhstan would fall into energy and political dependence on Russia.
Strangely enough, the loudest proponent of this view was the Russian eco-activist Vladimir Sliyak, who has long lived in Germany and works against Russia's interests, and now, apparently, against Kazakhstan's as well. Sliyak began appearing as an expert in Kazakhstani media outlets opposing the construction of the NPP from 2023.
Regarding the initial referendum results showing a majority of votes in favour of building the NPP, he made unflattering remarks about the policies of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his relationship with Vladimir Putin, which could be seen as an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstani eco-activists also did not stay out of the anti-nuclear campaign. Earlier, the media noticed several non-coincidental coincidences – during public hearings in different regions of the country, the same people actively spoke out against the construction of the NPP. Their protests disrupted the experts' presentations.
Journalists discovered that some active opponents of the NPP construction (Yernar Rakhimzhanov, Madina Kuketayeva, Elvira Bekzadina, Amangeldy Dzhakhin, Mereke Nugmanov, Alina Smakovaya) are members of the unregistered political party “Alga, Kazakhstan!”, which suggests that their actions are part of a broader political game.
Interestingly, activists of “Alga, Kazakhstan!” preferred to conceal their party affiliation, participating in public discussions without party symbols. This is probably because the party is not registered, and the existence of sources of funding or handlers cannot be ruled out.
The editorial board of FBRK has repeatedly written about the likely coalitions into which opponents of the NPP construction are supposedly divided. One of these is said to include those who receive funding from the USA, in particular, certain journalists, public figures, NGOs, and little-known environmental organisations.
For example, human rights activist Galym Ageleuov, who is a recipient of foreign grants, wrote back in 2019 that, unlike Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan would put the question of NPP construction to public hearings, and the decision would be made by popular vote. But during the campaign period, his rhetoric changed.
Such “mood swings” have become a characteristic feature of the majority of Kazakhstani opposition figures. Examples include the former head of KEGOC Asset Nauryzbayev or the former head of Kazatomprom Mukhtar Dzhakishev.
A more odious manifestation of disagreement with the NPP construction can be called the “Lesbian Kurultai” on the topic of the environment's impact on the LGBT+ community, held from October 7th to 10th in Almaty by the Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative “Feminite”.
It is noteworthy that the “Feminite” movement, sponsored by Western structures, instead of addressing gender equality issues, decided to move onto the environmental and energy agenda. They also actively tried to resist the construction of the NPP, organising meetings and lectures among their supporters.
Opponents of the NPP even attempted to resort to forecasts and analysis of public sentiment. In October 2023, the public opinion express monitoring bureau “Demoscope” together with the research centre “Paperlab” with the support of the international journalism centre “MediaNet” conducted a survey on the topic “Attitude of Kazakhstani citizens towards the construction of an NPP”.
It is worth noting that both Paperlab and MediaNet are funded by a multitude of Western structures, including the Open Society Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the international journalism centre Internews, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
According to the results of the sociological study, 46.6% of respondents supported the idea of building an NPP, nearly 38% were against it, and a further 36.9% were unaware of the plans to build a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan.
However, the head of the Paperlab research centre, sociologist Serik Beisembayev, despite the results of his own research, still doubts there is such a large number of NPP supporters in Kazakhstan.
Various media outlets and bloggers have written repeatedly about other participants in the movement against the NPP construction. As we have noted before, they either represent NGOs funded by foreign foundations, or act in the interests of certain business structures.
It is noteworthy that most of them judge the turnout and results of the referendum vote based on indicators from the city of Almaty. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is not just Almaty. It is millions of people in thousands of settlements, for whom clear and achievable stability is important.
The colossal work carried out by the state and the public has shown just how mature the population is when it comes to issues of strategic choice.