Nur-Sultan/Almaty - Kazakhstan's interim
president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, chosen successor of veteran
ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev who retains sweeping powers, has won
a snap presidential election with nearly 71% of the vote,
according to early results on Monday.
Nazarbayev, who ruled oil producer Kazakhstan for almost
three decades, handpicked the 66-year-old career diplomat as his
successor when he stepped down in March. In a power-sharing
arrangement, Nazarbayev, 78, remains chairman of the influential
Securiy Council and leads the ruling Nur Otan party.
With Tokayev's six rivals largely unknown to Kazakh voters,
opponents denounced the election as unfair, prompting public
protests despite Kazakhstan's restrictive laws on freedom of
expression.
During Sunday's vote, police arrested 500 people at rallies
in Almaty and Nur-Sultan, the capital city that was renamed
after Nazarbayev at Tokayev’s suggestion.
On Monday the number of protesters was much smaller as
hundreds of police gathered at the Almaty park where Sunday's
rally took place. A Reuters correspondent saw police detain a
few dozen people.
The Kazakh state closely controls domestic politics and
public discourse. The vast majority of local media does not
criticise Nazarbayev, and social media and online messaging
platforms were restricted during Sunday's election.
Monitors from Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, which has routinely described Kazakh elections as
neither free nor fair, are due to hold a briefing on their
findings later on Monday.
Tokayev, meanwhile, received congratulations from fellow
Central Asian leaders such as Uzbek and Kyrgyz presidents.
"We must unite to work for the future of Kazakhstan," Tokayev's
campaign website quoted him as saying.
Nazarbayev's eldest daughter Dariga became the speaker of
the Senate in March, the post previously held by Tokayev, and
members of the ex-president's family control some key business
assets such as Kazakhstan's largest bank, Halyk.
(Reporting by Tamara Vaal
Writing by Olzhas Auyezov
Editing by Maria Kiselyova and Raissa Kasolowsky)