Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev heads for huge election victory, exit polls show

• Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is running for a second term.
• The 69-year-old has kept his distance from Moscow, avoiding public support for Ukraine.
• He has pledged to address income disparity in the 19 million-person nation.

Exit polls predict a resounding victory for Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Sunday’s sudden election, less than a year after he sidelined Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Tokayev, Nazarbayev’s hand-picked successor, parted with his ex-patron after a January rebellion he dubbed a coup attempt.

A new election victory will give Tokayev, 69, the overwhelming personal mandate that Nazarbayev usually obtained across five terms.

Nazarbayev, who held important posts after stepping down, gave them up during the 238-person uprising this year. Tokayev persuaded Nazarbayev’s friends to resign and renamed the capital Astana from “Nur-Sultan”.

Tokayev requested Russian assistance to quell the uprising in January but has subsequently kept his distance from Moscow, avoiding public support for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

The strength of the rouble, boosted by capital controls, has helped propel Kazakhstan’s inflation to a 14-year high.

Former foreign minister and UN deputy secretary-general Tokayev oversaw constitutional revisions limiting his authority to two terms. He has also pledged to address income disparity in the 19 million-person nation by eradicating corruption and allocating wealth more equitably.

Originally set for late 2024, the presidential election was pushed early following turmoil in January and a subsequent constitutional referendum. Tokayev announced on Sunday that he will continue “resetting” the political system by calling early parliamentary elections in 2019. This year, Tokayev left the ruling Amanat party and oversaw measures that made it easier to form new political parties.

According to opinion polls, none of the other five candidates will reach double digits in Sunday’s election.

On the day of the election, Timerlan Sadykov, a citizen of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, remarked, “Among those who are running for president, I only know Tokayev, firstly.”

“And secondly, the way he’s conducted himself on the international stage has been very appealing.”

Serik, a 35-year-old manager who only provided his first name, stated that he voted against all candidates.

“… I think the powers that be must realize they have given us no real choice,” he said.

Opposition parties and local media said police detained a few dozen Almaty protesters who called the vote illegitimate. Others were charged with misdemeanors, police added.

By 9 p.m. local time, 69.4% of voters in Kazakhstan had voted, according to the Central Election Commission. On Monday, preliminary results of the voting are anticipated.

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