President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is extensively anticipated to win Sunday’s election over 5 little-known candidates.
Polls have closed in Kazakhstan, the place the incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is extensively anticipated to safe a straightforward victory in a snap election, solidifying his grip on energy lower than a 12 months after he sidelined his long-ruling, authoritarian predecessor.
The Sunday election comes after bloody unrest shook the nation this 12 months and Tokayev moved to stifle the affect of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
5 candidates had been on the poll towards Tokayev, however with a brief marketing campaign interval that started in late October, that they had little alternative to mount important challenges. Opinion polls have predicted not one of the 5 different candidates would rating within the double digits.
Tokayev, apparently assured of holding a robust benefit, stayed away from a nationally televised election debate.
The previous diplomat, who got here to energy in 2019 as Nazarbayev’s hand-picked successor when the nation’s solely ruler for the reason that Soviet period stepped down, broke along with his ex-patron after a January rebellion that Tokayev referred to as a coup try.
A brand new election victory – a foregone conclusion towards the 5 little-known candidates – will give Tokayev, 69, the form of overwhelming private mandate that Nazarbayev routinely secured as he constructed a character cult over 5 successive phrases.
Tokayev mentioned on Sunday that he would proceed “resetting” the political system by calling an early parliamentary election subsequent 12 months. Tokayev stop the ruling Amanat get together this 12 months and oversaw reforms making it simpler to ascertain new political events.
The nationwide elections fee mentioned about 69 p.c of the citizens had voted by the tip of the day (14:00 GMT). Information from a number of exit polls can be printed after midnight (18:00 GMT) and preliminary outcomes of the vote are anticipated on Monday.
The election for a seven-year time period comes as Tokayev has taken steps to maintain Kazakhstan’s distance from longtime ally and dominant regional energy Russia. Tokayev referred to as on Russian assist to place down the unrest, however has since averted giving public backing to Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
Russia is Kazakhstan’s largest buying and selling accomplice, and Russia’s slide into recession has harm Kazakh financial progress, whereas the power of the rouble boosted by capital controls has helped push inflation in Kazakhstan to a 14-year excessive.
Police detained a number of dozen individuals who staged small-scale protests towards the vote in Almaty, calling it unlawful, based on opposition teams and native media. Police mentioned some had been quickly launched, whereas others confronted misdemeanour prices.