Kazakhstan holds its first-ever elections for Kurultai

Kazakhstan is holding elections today, August 23, for deputies of the new unicameral Kurultai (parliament), marking the first such elections in the country’s history.

According to Caliber.Az, citing Kazakh media, the Central Election Commission said 10,423 polling stations have been opened, including 79 at Kazakhstan’s diplomatic missions in 61 foreign countries.

Voting began at 7:00 a.m. local time and will continue until 8:00 p.m. At certain polling stations — including those at military units, continuous-production enterprises and shift-worker settlements — election commissions may conclude voting early if all voters on the rolls have cast their ballots.

A total of 12,605,788 citizens are eligible to vote. Seven political parties are competing for seats in the Kurultai: Adilet, Auyl, Baytaq Green Party, Ak Zhol, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party (OSDP), the People’s Party of Kazakhstan (NPK) and Respublica. The ballot also includes a “Against all” option.

A total of 12,731,847 ballots have been printed, including a 1% reserve.

The election is being monitored by 777 international observers from 42 countries and 13 organizations. Among them are 138 members of parliament from 41 countries.

By Jeyhun Aghazada