Kazakhstan, presidential election. Opinion polls indicate that incumbent President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev will win

Even polling stations are closed all the time Kazakhstan At 9 p.m. local time, 69.4 percent of voters have cast ballots. voters, according to the Central Election Commission. Preliminary voting results are expected on Monday.

Polls However, they point to a clear winner. According to them, the current president, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, can get support from 82 to 85 percent. At the same time, the poll results do not predict that any of the five remaining candidates for the nation’s highest office won double-digit results in Sunday’s vote.

In the presidential elections in Kazakhstan, Karat Abdin, Nurlan Uysbayev, Sigoliy Dagrabaev, Magram Kygyu and Sultana Tursinbekov ran.

On Sunday, Tokayev said he would continue to “reset” the political system. He announced early parliamentary elections next year.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the “Father of the Nation,” ruled Kazakhstan for nearly 30 years. In 2019, Nazarbayev handed over the reins to Kasym-Zumartov-Tokayev. The former foreign minister broke with his former patron after riots across the country in January 2022, which Tokayev described as an attempted coup.

Nazarbayev, who held important positions after he stepped down, resigned during the riots. Since then, Tokayev has forced Nazarbayev’s allies to abandon their other posts and Renamed the capital – Renamed Nursultan in honor of Nazarbayev – and returned to Astana.

Tokayev had quelled internal unrest earlier in the year by force Russia. At least 238 people died and about 10,000 were arrested. However, after that, he did not contact the authorities in Moscow and avoided publicly supporting Russia’s war. Ukraine– He mentions the Austrian station ORF, stressing that Moscow remains Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner, and that Russia’s slide into recession has weakened the Kazakh economy.

Tokayev, former foreign minister and deputy secretary general United nations. In recent years, among other things, he has overseen constitutional reforms that have limited his rule to two terms. He also promised to reduce income inequality by eliminating corruption and redistributing wealth more fairly in this country of 19 million people.

Presidential elections were originally scheduled for late 2024, but were postponed after riots in January and the subsequent constitutional referendum.

Tokayev left the ruling Amanat party this year and has overseen reforms to facilitate the creation of new political parties.