Incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected for a fourth term in the 2011 Kazakh presidential election, winning over 95% of the vote. From there, he promised in continuing economic, political and social reforms. During that time, the Kazakh government had received criticism from the opposition in the country and internationally due to Nur Otan's single-party control of the Parliament which it gained in 2007. Minor parties made their eventual return to the lower-house Mazhilis in 2012 although they were considered to be loyal to the authorities. Complaints of human rights abuses continued in the country as the Kazakh government was accused on cracking and shutting down independent media outlets and opposition groups that mostly covered the Zhanaozen massacre where the police opened fire on striking oil workers, which resulted in deaths of 12 people.