Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, former speaker of the Mazhilis (lower chamber of parliament) and a former member of the ruling Otan party, has been elected chairman of the Kazakh opposition\'s Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces. The council announced at a news conference in Astana on 7 December that the decision was made at a session chaired by Galymzhan Zhaqiyanov, the leader of Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, who is currently under house arrest. The council brings together the opposition Ak Zhol, the Communist Party, and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan. Tuyakbai gave up his seat in the Mazhilis and left the Otan party to protest violations in the course of 19 September parliamentary elections. Tuyakbai announced at a press conference in Astana on 7 December that the Coordinating Council will not take part in President Nursultan Nazarbaev\'s National Commission on Issues of Democracy and Civil Society. Noting that the opposition is not against \"appropriate dialogue with the authorities,\" Tuyakbai stressed that it must be a dialogue of equals. Additionally, the council\'s new chairman said that the question of parliament\'s legitimacy must be resolved first. He added that the authorities and the president have not responded to questions about the fairness of 19 September parliamentary elections. The commission on democratization is scheduled to meet on 9 December. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)