The Otan party won 42 of the 77 seats, gaining a majority in the Mäjilis.

The primary cause was due to the increased cost of petroleum as a result of the American-led war in Afghanistan, which allowed the government to repay its debts and raise pensions, average salaries and improve medical services.

Some groups benefited greatly from the increasing wages, while about 25% of Kazakhs especially in the southwestern districts and regions around the Caspian Sea continued to live below the poverty line.

Despite improvements in the economy and social issues, Kazakhstan faced problems with the lack of independent media, a poor human rights record and the unfair treatment of independent journalists, including the case of Sergei Duvanov who was arrested in October 2002, a few days before his travel to the United States to discuss corruption and the situation with the Kazakh medi, when he was accused of sexually assaulting a minor.

[1] Due to international pressure, including from American Secretary of State Colin Powell, Duvanov was released in January 2004.