Voter turnout in presidential elections in Turkmenistan hits 96.28 percent

Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Feb.12 / Trend, H. Hasanov /

96.28 percent of voters voted in the presidential elections in Turkmenistan till the polls closed, an operative report of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of Turkmenistan (CEC) says.

According to the CEC, of the total voter turnout 94.20 percent of voters voted in Ashgabat city, 96.23 percent - in Akhal province, 96.15 percent - in Balkan province, 96.46 percent - in Dashoguz, 96.43 percent - in Lebap, while 96.94 percent - in Mary province.

Voting in the regular presidential elections started at 8 am on Sunday at the polling stations in Turkmenistan, and ended at 8 pm.

Eight candidates compete at the presidential elections.

In general, 2,307 polling stations are opened, 29 of which operate abroad under foreign diplomatic missions of Turkmenistan. The number of voters is 2.987.324 million people.

The elections are observed by 2,340 national observers, as well as observation mission from the CIS (63 people), which includes representatives of the CIS member states, Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the CIS member states, Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, as well as the CIS Executive Committee.