Kazakhstan’s current president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, won Sunday’s early presidential election in Central Asia’s largest country by a wide margin, preliminary results showed on Monday.
The 69-year-old head of state, who came to power in 2019, won with 81.31% of the vote, according to preliminary information provided by the Central Election Commission.
Of the almost 12 million registered voters, 69.44%, or some 8.3 million, indicated the same data.
These early elections were aimed at confirming Kassym-Jomart Tokaev in power, which prevented any simulation by the main opponents. Voters could only choose between the current leader and five candidates without projection or credibility and who did not obtain more than 3.42% of the votes.
In January 2022, Tokayev, who gave “shoot to kill” orders to protesters, causing at least 238 deaths, ran in these elections as a promoter of renewal and national concord.
This election culminates a year of strong social unrest in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, rich in natural resources, with its initial origin in deep social inequalities. Now, this former diplomat promises to commit to a “new Kazakhstan”, fairer and less corrupt.
With this objective, he removed the powerful clan of the influential former president Nursultan Nazarbaiev from the decision-making spaces, consolidating his position.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have already regretted that the recommendations “relating to fundamental freedoms and the conditions of eligibility and registration of candidates” have not been respected.
Tokayev, who came to power after the surprise resignation of Nazarbaiev in March 2019, initially admitted a policy of continuity with his predecessor and mentor, before breaking with the all-powerful former president after the bloody month of January.
In a demonstration of the instability that still prevails in the Asian country, the authorities announced this Thursday the arrest of seven supporters of an opponent in exile, accused of participating in the preparation of a “coup d’état”.
Source: TSF
