High turnout, protests and detentions: presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, all polling stations where voting in the presidential elections took place, writes RBC. The latter were the last to stop accepting commission commissions in the western regions of the country: West Kazakhstan, Aktobe, Atyrau and Mangystau regions.

Photo: Twitter @n_a_nazarbaev

High turnout

According to the Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan, as of 20: 00 local time (10: 00 in New York), the turnout was 77%. The residents of Almaty oblast showed the greatest activity, where 89% of voters came to the polls. The turnout in the West Kazakhstan region was the smallest - 66,2%.

Less actively voted in large cities. So, in Shymkent and the capital of the republic - Nur-Sultan, 67,1 and 68,3% of voters came to the polling stations, and in Almaty - 52,2%.

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Protests and Detention

On the day of the early presidential election in the country, hundreds of people gathered in different cities of Kazakhstan for unauthorized protests, writes BBC Russian Service.

According to RIA Novosti, about 700 people took part in the rally in the capital Nur-Sultan.

Interfax correspondent reports that about 300 people gathered in the regional center of Almaty, who called for a boycott of the extraordinary presidential elections in the country.

Protesters believe the elections are unfair and undemocratic, and their outcome is predetermined.

According to the first deputy minister of internal affairs of Kazakhstan, Marat Kozhaev, as a result of unauthorized rallies in Nur-Sultan and Almaty, about 100 people were detained.

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According to Radio Azattyk, a rally was also held in the city of Shymkent, where police detained about 20 people.

According to the vesti.kg portal, local journalists are among those detained. According to Vlast.kz, the operator of this online publication Ekaterina Suvorova, Azattyk journalist Pyotr Trotsenko and political scientist Dimash Alzhanov were detained.

British journalist Chris Rickleton, who works for Agence France-Presse, tweeted that he was also detained.

“I’m in a paddy wagon, I was detained for my professional activities. A black eye is the result of a rough arrest. I fell on the policeman's knee; I was not beaten intentionally. My accreditation was taken away,” Rickleton wrote.

According to the portal Vlast.kz, Chris Rickleton and his colleague spent two hours in the police department, while Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vasilenko did not intervene. He called reporters and apologized, after which they were released.

It is reported that the Kazakh media complain about blocking the Internet and problems with access to social networks on election day.

The country's Deputy Prosecutor General Bulat Dembaev said that “individual users” of social networks are conducting illegal campaigning on election day, but noted that he is not aware of information about communication outages.
Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan reported that in connection with the elections in Kazakhstan, the police switched to enhanced duty.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs claims that the unauthorized rallies were convened on the initiative of the extremist organization DCK, banned by the country’s court.

“The fugitive leader of this organization (Mukhtar Ablyazov) on the eve of the elections carried out massive propaganda work to discredit the authorities in the country, boycott early elections, and called for antisocial actions during the election period,” Kozhaev said.

The leader of the opposition movement “Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan”, banned in the country, Mukhtar Ablyazov, who lives abroad, called on his supporters to go out to street protests on June 9-10.

Candidates

Extraordinary elections in Kazakhstan were called after In March, the first President of the country Nursultan Nazarbayev left his post.. He led the country continuously for almost 30 years. The speaker of the Senate, former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ex-Prime Minister Kassym-Jomart Tokayev became the new head of state before the elections. His candidacy for the elections was nominated by the ruling Nur Otan party, and Tokayev was also supported by Nazarbayev. Public opinion polls predicted victory for Tokayev before the elections and support of 70% of voters.

At the core of Tokayev’s election program were three theses — continuity, justice, and progress. In total, his program has more than 170 tasks, and the main focus is on social policy and the fight against corruption.

According to TJournalIn total, seven candidates participated in the elections:

• Sadybek Tugel - candidate from the public association “Uly Dala Kyrandary” (Eagles of the Great Steppe). He stands for the promotion of national values, as well as against gay propaganda. Known for going to clubs in the campaign video and offering young people to drink koumiss instead of vodka.
• Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev is the current president of Kazakhstan, the candidate from the Nur-Otan party. Former Chairman of the Senate, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs. She promises to continue the course of the Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev.
• Amirzhan Kosanov - opposition candidate from the United National-Patriotic Movement "Ylt taғdyry", journalist. He was arrested several times for organizing unauthorized rallies.
• Zhambyl Akhmetbekov is a candidate from the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan, the holder of a black belt in karate. In the 2011 election of the year, 1 gained% of the vote. It stands for the rejection of Western values ​​and against Internet addiction.
• Denmark Espayeva - candidate from the Ak Zhol party, the first woman candidate in the history of modern Kazakhstan. Economist, promises to solve the problem of mothers with many children.
• Amangeldy Taspihov - candidate from the union of trade unions of Kazakhstan.
• Toleutai Rakhimbekov - candidate from the party “Auyl” (village).

For the first time, the representative of the Ak Zhol party, Dania Espaeva, fought for the presidency.

Photo: Twitter @5KsVErOfgnsegxl

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