Foundation Amanat traces back to its origins in October 1998, when the
Public Headquarters in Support of the Candidate for President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev N.A. during the
1999 election was formed, then ran by former Prime Minister
Sergey Tereshchenko. The party derived its name from the Arabic word
watan (fatherland), which is spelled as
otan in the
Kazakh language. Shortly following President
Nursultan Nazarbayev's re-election win, a decision was made at the headquarters' meeting on 19 January 1999 to convert the formerly campaign staff into the
"Otan" Republican Political Party (; ), which was subsequently registered on 12 February 1999. However, Nazarbayev declined to take over the chairmanship on a constitutional basis, resulting in Tereshchenko taking the role as the acting chairman while Nazarbayev himself would serve as the
de facto party leader. Speaking at the congress, the Nazarbayev stated that:"The country can relatively painlessly survive the modern world challenges, only strengthening the internal economy, internal political stability, only demonstrating civil consolidation and solidarity. And in this regard, I have special hopes for the political party being created today, which we decided to call the word 'Otan' (Fatherland). The main thing is that the party is created from below, at the initiative of those thousands of volunteers who supported my candidacy for the Presidency in all the settlements of our country." On 23 April 1999, the party was re-registered in the
Ministry of Justice.
Nazarbayev leadership , who led Nur Otan from its foundation in 1999 until 2022
1999–2006: Growth and consolidation The Otan for the first time participated in the
1999 legislative elections, with 54 candidates from
single-member districts and 18 from the
party-list for the
Mäjilis. The party won a minority of 23 out of 77 seats with 30.9% of the vote with a majority of
independents and
political associates whom were affiliated with the party's
parliamentary group. On 14 December 1999, the Bureau of the Mäjilis registered the Otan parliamentary group with 39 MP's, which included 13 Senators, 26 Mäjilis members. By the decree of the party's Bureau of the Political Council,
Quanyşbek Böltaev was approved as the head of the faction, and Urazalinov Sh.A. as the deputy. In the run-up to previous elections, Otan usually received a majority of domestic media coverage. Before the 1999 legislative elections, for example, it was reported that Otan was the main focus in almost 60% of the coverage. On 20 April 2001, at the 3rd Ordinary Congress, Nazarbayev summarised the results of the party's work telling that "the party has gained good work experience and over the past years has shown that it lives up to its name and can work to strengthen statehood, to consolidate society, to protect the interests of citizens." At the 4th Extraordinary Congress held on 9 November 2002, the amendments and additions were made to the Otan's party charter, program for the development of small and medium-sized businesses for 2003–2005 was approved. In the
2004 Kazakh legislative election, the party won 60.6% of the popular vote and 42 out of 77 seats with 35 being from
single-member districts, becoming a majority in the
Mäjilis.
Zharmakhan Tuyakbay,
Chairman of the Mazhilis and a party loyalist renounced his Otan membership and resigned from post as the Mazhilis Chairman after criticising the government of rigging the elections in favour of the party. Tuyakbay eventually joined the opposition and would lead
For a Just Kazakhstan alliance by running against Nazarbayev in the
2005 presidential election. On 9 September 2005, the 8th Otan Extraordinary Congress was held with the participation of the party leader and head of state
Nursultan Nazarbayev. For the first time, the delegates nominated Nazarbayev as a candidate for presidency. The party intended to unite all the constructive civic forces within the country on the platform of support for Nazarbayev and provide him with new opportunities to complete political reforms. The Otan pledged to implement the initiatives set by Nazarbayev of which were reviving the rural villages, developing agricultural production, domestic industry, small and medium-sized businesses. After the merged party was formed, Nazarbayev remarked to his daughter "Tell your Asar members that... you are returning to your father." Dariga, on 19 June 2006, said that all pro-presidential parties should combine to create a grouping "with which no other party will be able to compete in the next 50 years." In November 2006, it was announced that the
Civic Party and the
Agrarian Party would follow in Asar's path and also merge with Otan to increase the party's share of MP's from 46 to 57 seats out of 77. Nazarbayev said he expected other parties to merge with Otan. Nazarbayev said there should be fewer, stronger parties that "efficiently defend the interests of the population." At the subsequent party congress on 22 December 2006, delegates voted to rename Otan into the '''"Nur Otan" People's Democratic Party''' (; ).
2006–2013: Rebranding and further developments On 4 July 2007, at the 11th Nur Otan Extraordinary Congress, Nazarbayev declared himself as sole leader of the party. At the congress,
Baqytjan Jumagulov became the First Deputy Chairman while
Kairat Kelimbetov and
Sergey Gromov were elected as deputy chairmen and the
amendments to the Constitution which changed Kazakhstan's electoral system, the Nur Otan presented 127 persons in the party-list which were scheduled to be elected for the first time through
proportional representation. In the
August 2007 legislative elections, the Nur Otan won 88.1% of the vote and all the contested seats, making it the highest share for the party in history while other parties were unable pass the 7%
electoral threshold, thus leaving the Nur Otan to have a sole party representation in the
Parliament. This made the party become a central factor in the political decision-making process within the government, being compared to the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union by the opposition. In 2008, the Nur Otan formed its
youth wing named
Jas Otan and that same year in February, the party signed a cooperation agreement with the Agency of Combating Economic and Corruption Crime to which according to First Deputy Chairman
Adilbek Zhaksybekov: "The public councils will influence through the media, through methods of public influence, so that cases brought for corruption offences are brought to an end." Just one month later on 3 March 2008, the Nur Otan Republican Public Anti-Corruption Council was formed, which was an advisory body under the party aimed at fighting corruption. At the Nur Otan Anti-Corruption Forum held on 6 November 2008, Nazarbayev proposed the creation of the Committee of Party Control which would provide public support and help the Nur Otan fight the corruption. He also called for the party to cooperate with non-government organisations (NGOs) and that the Nur Otan should keep issues of corruption in the health and justice system on the stand. That same day, changes took place within the party.
Boran Raqymbekov was appointed as the chairman of the party's control committee, while new secretary posts were formed for the Nur Otan organisational and mass work with
Sergey Gromov and
Erlan Karin being appointed as the secretaries. On 15 May 2009, the 12th Nur Otan Extraordinary Congress was held, from there Nazarbayev presented a plan for the nation to recover from the
Great Recession and urged for the party members to develop Innovative development, raise the standard of living, and stability in society. He also called for a
diversification within the economy, claiming that the agricultural sector would make great contributation to the cause. The congress also addressed the issues of improving the system of government, combating corruption and improving the efficiency of the party itself. In May 2010, a Higher Party School was formed under the party, which aimed at improving the party's political studies. At the 14th Extraordinary Congress held on 25 November 2011, the party unveiled its electoral platform called the "Kazakhstan 2017 Goals National Plan of Action". At the congress, Nazarbayev stated that "in the 21st century only strong states can develop successfully. As the political leadership party Nur Otan, it takes responsibility for the future of the country, the stability of society and the continuity of the political course in the coming decades." After the 2007 elections, the Nur Otan received backlash amongst opposition and international organisations. This eventually led to the
Parliament, which the Nur Otan controlled, to pass an amendment that would guarantee for the opposing party to have a mandate in the
Mazhilis whether it reaches the required 7%
electoral threshold or not, with lawmakers from the Nur Otan itself who called for a
multi-party system. The Nur Otan at the
2012 legislative election swept 80.9% of the vote, winning a
supermajority of 83 out of 98 seats, although suffering its worst loss of 15 seats in comparison to
2007. Two parties: the
Ak Zhol Democratic Party and
Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan gained its presence in the
Parliament, although they were viewed as loyal to the government. The Nur Otan presented its doctrine to which called for evolutionary development and to build a democratic, prosperous, competitive and socially oriented state where every motivated, law-abiding and hard-working citizen would benefit himself and society. At the congress, a decision was made to adopt a new full name for the party as simply "
Nur Otan", removing the "People's Democratic" wording in which First Deputy Chairman
Bauyrjan Baibek argued that political parties do not put "ideological affiliation" in their name as basis for "international practice". At the Nur Otan Political Council meeting on 11 November 2014, Nazarbayev addressed the nation on the
Nurly Jol economic plan and an Anti-Corruption Program for 2015–2025 was adopted to which according to Baibek noted that the main indicator for the effectiveness of the program would be Kazakhstan's entry into the world's top 30 most developed economies. On 11 March 2015, at the 16th Ordinary Congress held at the
Palace of Independence, around 1,200 delegates took part in which for the first time more than 20% of them were heads of primary party organizations. At the congress, the participants discussed the issues in the results of works by the Political Council, Central Control, Audit Commission as well as the candidacy nomination for the
2015 presidential election. Nazarbayev insisted that his proposals would strengthen the country and its entry into the top 30 developed countries of the world. Following the announcement of the
2016 legislative elections, the 17th Nur Otan Extraordinary Congress took place on 29 January 2016 which Nazarbayev proclaimed it as a "historical moment", reflecting his 17-year chairmanship of the party where he claimed that it become a "basis for concrete achievements of our economy, state and society". At the congress, a party list and the Kazakhstan-2021: Unity. Stability. Creation electoral programme were approved in which Nazarbayev outlined its key areas of anti-crisis stabilization; structural modernization of the economy; new standards of quality of life for Kazakh citizens; constitutional patriotism; regional stability, integration and security. In the aftermath of
2016 legislative elections, the Nur Otan won an extra seat and 82.2% of the vote, a margin slightly more than compared to
2012 from which Nazarbayev called it "a great accomplishment of our democracy." Nazarbayev's daughter,
Dariga, became an MP from the party list which fueled speculations in regard to potential political succession. During the meeting, the party discussed its results from activities for the first 10 months of 2017 and made changes to its composition in the Bureau of the Political Council. Massimov was replaced by Presidential Administration head
Adilbek Zhaksybekov who was supported unanimously. The transition was endorsed by Nazarbayev and marked a shift in the party’s direction. Addressing the congress, Tokayev outlined key priorities aimed at revitalizing the party’s role in governance, including reinforcing national unity, enhancing ideological engagement, restructuring the party's faction presence in the
Mäjilis, tackling socio-economic challenges, strengthening public outreach, and intensifying anti-corruption efforts. He also signaled the possibility of stepping down as chairman later in the year, citing the importance of presidential impartiality in political affairs. Following this transition, several key changes took place within the party's political structure. On 1 February 2022,
Nurlan Nigmatullin resigned from his position as
chairman of the Mäjilis, a role he had held since 2016. Additionally, on 25 February 2022,
Dariga Nazarbayeva, the daughter of Nazarbayev, stepped down from her parliamentary mandate. At the 22nd Extraordinary Congress of Nur Otan, held on 1 March 2022, Tokayev supported a proposal by
Erlan Qoşanov to rename the party to
Amanat. During the congress, Tokayev emphasized the need to decentralize party structures, enhance direct voter engagement, shift focus from populist rhetoric to addressing concrete social issues, and launch new citizen-driven policy initiatives to strengthen Kazakhstan's political stability amid global uncertainties. A significant outcome of the congress was the removal of Nurlan Nigmatullin from the Amanat Political Council, following his earlier resignation as chairman of the Mäjilis.
Qoşanov leadership , who has led Amanat from April 2022On 26 April 2022, at the 23rd Extraordinary Congress of Amanat, Tokayev formally resigned from his position as party chairman and withdrew from membership, reinforcing his commitment to
presidential neutrality and emphasized that the president should not be affiliated with any political party, which he believed would promote fairness and ensure equal opportunities for all political forces. Tokayev's resignation followed significant changes within the party, including the merger of the
Adal party with Amanat. In his speech at the congress, Tokayev expressed confidence that Amanat would remain pivotal in Kazakhstan's political life without his leadership, nominating
Erlan Qoşanov, Chairman of the Mäjilis, as his successor due to his extensive experience and leadership capabilities, with the congress delegates unanimously approving his candidacy. After taking over as chairman of Amanat, Qoşanov highlighted the intensified political competition following Tokayev's departure from the party, stressing that the party's responsibility lies in addressing societal issues and resolving citizens' concerns to achieve electoral success. He reaffirmed the party's commitment to supporting President Tokayev's reforms, focusing on political, economic, and social changes to improve citizens' lives and increase competition in various sectors. Qoşanov emphasized the need for clear roadmaps and regional targets to implement the election program, while ensuring Amanat's active role in building a
New Kazakhstan and combating bureaucracy for meaningful progress. == Organisation ==