[1] President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced by public decree on 7 July 1999 that the elections to both Houses of the Parliament (the Senate and Assembly) would take place on 17 September 1999 and 10 October 1999 respectively.

For the first time, 10 of the 77 seats in the Assembly were contested on a party basis and opposition candidates were given access to the media.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, that had deployed 200 observers to monitor the vote, reported that the election had fallen far short of international standards.

The new polls would be held in Atyrau city and the South Kazakhstan and Jambyl regions.

For the Senate, on 17 September, deputies in the regional and city assemblies elected the 16 contested seats.