ALMATY, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was headed for a landslide victory in a snap election on Sunday, in line with exit polls, solidifying his grip on energy lower than a yr after he sidelined his long-ruling predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The former diplomat, who got here to energy in 2019 as Nazarbayev’s hand-picked successor when the Central Asian nation’s solely ruler for the reason that Soviet period stepped down, broke together with his ex-patron after a January rebellion that Tokayev referred to as a coup try.
A brand new election victory – polls confirmed him successful between 82% and 85% of the vote – will give Tokayev, 69, the kind of overwhelming private mandate that Nazarbayev routinely secured as he constructed a persona cult over 5 successive phrases.
Nazarbayev, who had held on to essential posts after stepping down, gave them up throughout the rebellion early this yr through which 238 individuals died. Tokayev has since compelled Nazarbayev allies to relinquish different positions, and adjusted the identify of the capital – renamed “Nur-Sultan” in Nazarbayev’s honour – again to Astana.
Tokayev referred to as in Russian assist to place down the January unrest, however has since stored his distance from Moscow, avoiding giving public backing to Russia’s battle in Ukraine.
Russia is Kazakhstan’s greatest buying and selling companion, and Russia’s slide into recession has harm its neighbour’s economic system, whereas the energy of the rouble , boosted by capital controls, has helped push inflation in Kazakhstan to a 14-year excessive.
Tokayev, a former international minister and deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, has overseen constitutional reforms which restrict his personal rule to 2 phrases. He has additionally promised to cut back earnings inequality by rooting out corruption and redistributing wealth extra pretty within the nation of 19 million individuals.
The presidential election had initially been scheduled for late 2024, however was moved up after January’s unrest and a subsequent constitutional referendum. Tokayev stated on Sunday he would proceed “resetting” the political system by calling an early parliamentary election subsequent yr. Tokayev stop the ruling Amanat get together this yr and oversaw reforms making it simpler to determine new political events.
Opinion polls have predicted not one of the 5 different candidates would rating within the double digits in Sunday’s vote.
“Among those who are running for president, I only know Tokayev, firstly,” Timerlan Sadykov, a resident of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s greatest metropolis, stated on the eve of the vote.
“And secondly, the way he’s conducted himself on the international stage has been very appealing.”
Another Almaty voter, a 35-year-old supervisor who solely gave his first identify, Serik, stated he voted in opposition to all candidates.
“… I think the powers that be must realise they have given us no real choice,” he stated.
Police detained a couple of dozen individuals in Almaty who staged small-scale protests in opposition to the vote, calling it unlawful, in line with opposition teams and native media. Police stated some had been quickly launched, whereas others confronted misdemeanour costs.
By the time polling stations closed throughout Kazakhstan at 9 p.m. native time, 69.4% of voters had solid their ballots, the Central Election Commission stated. Preliminary outcomes of the vote are anticipated on Monday.
Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov and Mariya Gordeyeva
Additional reporting by Tamara Vall in Astana
Editing by Peter Graff, Frances Kerry, Alexander Smith and Paul Simao
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
