Kazakhstan holds extraordinary presidential elections

Today, Kazakhstan elects a president for the next seven years. Extraordinary elections have started across the country, with six candidates running for the presidency.

10,101 polling stations are open in Kazakhstan. Citizens can also vote in 53 countries around the world. Polling stations have been set up in Ankara, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Athens, Vilnius, Sofia, Bucharest, Tallinn, Helsinki, Riga, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Bishkek, Delhi, Tashkent, Ashgabat, Islamabad and Dushanbe, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat, Yerevan, Baku, Astrakhan, Tbilisi, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan, Omsk.

Observers report high voter turnout. According to the CEC of the republic, by afternoon (09.00 Moscow time) the turnout in the early presidential elections in Kazakhstan was 38.55%, in the previous elections in 2019, 35.1% of voters voted by this hour. In total, almost 12 million citizens of Kazakhstan have the right to vote in elections.

Six candidates are registered for the elections: incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev from the People's Coalition; economist Meiram Kazhyken from the Amanat Trade Unions Commonwealth; Jiguli Dayrabaev from the Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party ("Village"); Karakat Abden from the Republican Public Association "National Alliance of Professional Social Workers"; Saltanat Tursynbekova from the republican public association "Cossack analary - dasturge zhol" ("Kazakh mothers - the road to traditions"); head of the metropolitan branch of the opposition Nationwide Social Democratic Party Nurlan Auesbaev. The ballot papers also have an item "Against all".

Candidates Jiguli Dairabaev and Meiram Kazhyken have already voted in the elections, and the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov, has also made his choice.

The first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, also voted in the elections; he does not hide the fact that he voted for the incumbent president.

Tokayev himself, having voted in the extraordinary presidential elections in Kazakhstan, said: if the citizens of Kazakhstan elect him, he will continue implementation of his program and seven years will be enough for this.