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Presidential elections start in Kazakhstan

Politics Materials 3 April 2011 06:00 (UTC +04:00)
The polling stations were opened at 7:00 a.m. on the Kazakhn time in Kazakhstan, where snap presidential elections are conducted.
Presidential elections start in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , Astana, April 3 /Trend, A.Maratov/

The polling stations were opened at 7:00 a.m. on the Kazakhn time in Kazakhstan, where snap presidential elections are conducted.
Polling stations will stay open until 20:00 p.m. Authorities promise the most transparent elections in history.

A total of 1,059 accredited observers will be monitoring the elections in the country. The most numerous mission will be from the CIS (425) and the OSCE/ODIHR (357 people).

The legislation in Kazakhstan does not provide turnout threshold. Elections will be held for any number of voters. However, the voter turnout is an important factor in the election's legitimacy.

Presidential elections in Kazakhstan are characterized by high turnout. About 76.79 percent of voters participated in the last presidential elections in 2005.

Four candidates passed registration at the Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) and will continue to participate in the snap presidential elections scheduled for April 3. The candidates are current President Nursultan Nazarbayev , Communist Zhambyl Ahmetbekov, leader of the Patriots Party, Senator Gani Kasimov and Tabiyat Ecological Union leader Mels Eleusizov.

According to experts, the acting head of state will easily win the election. 70-year-old Nazarbayev has been in power for over 20 years, and according to opinion polls, is supported by about 90 percent of the population.

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