Obama’s victory secret? A Kazakh amulet

U.S. President Barack Obama didn't win re-election because of demographics, Hurricane Sandy or his team's get-out-the-vote efforts.

No, he won because of a "special gift" from the President of Kazakhstan, according to one report.

Earlier this year, President Nursultan Nazarbayev gave Mr. Obama a tumar – a traditional Kazakh leather amulet – which led to his victory, claims a newspaper in the Central Asian republic.

"We have to remember that in March this year, President Nazarbayev met with Barack Obama … Nazarbayev gave Obama a Kazakh tumar as a gift so that he could win in a landslide victory in the presidential elections. The Kazakh leader's special gift brought victory to Obama," the Nov. 8 report in Aikyn says, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Mr. Nazarbayev presented Mr. Obama with the decorative framed amulet during a summit on nuclear security in Seoul in March, telling him it was "for good luck," according to a report in Kazinform. The leather pouches, which contain prayers from the Koran, are traditionally given to newborns and worn around the neck.

The long-time authoritarian leader rules the former Soviet republic with an iron fist, tolerating little dissent. In last year's presidential elections, for example, he was re-elected with more than 95 per cent of the vote.