The Central Electoral Commission of Kazakhstan has registered the 11 candidates for president who will compete with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the 12th candidate. Kazakhstan will hold early presidential elections on April 3, head of the CEC Kuandyk Turgankulov said, ITAR-TASS reports.
22 requests to take part in the elections were registered. Three came from political parties, 1 from a public organization and 18 were independents. 18 candidates were men, with 4 women. 21 candidates had a higher education and one had a specialist higher education. The candidates include the president, a deputy, a state administrative official, 5 figures from public organizations, 2 pensioners and 4 unemployed. Seven candidates took part in the presidential elections in 2005.
5 candidates failed to pass the exam on knowledge of the Kazakh language. One candidate refused to sit the exam and three others withdrew their candidacies.
All the candidates who passed the exam successfully were given official notes for signature collection. They need at least 91,000 signatures from 16 regions of the country. Assistants are allowed to collect the signatures.
There are currently 3 parties set to campaign: Nursultan Nazarbayev from the ruling Nur Otan Party, secretary of the Communist Party Jambyl Ahmetbekov and parliamentary senator Gani Kasymov from the Kazakh Patriots Party. The leader of the Zheltoksan (December) patriotic movement registered on the very last day.
Official registration ends on March 2. All the candidates need to bring in approximately $5000 and present an income and property sheet. Campaigning begins on March 3 and ends on April 1, two days ahead of the elections.
