KZBlog

The polls are closing in Kazakhstan’s snap Presidential election. According to Usen Zhetenov of the Central Election Committee voter turnout was around 84% [RU], compared to 74% in 2005 when Nazarbayev won with 91% of the votes.

According to Kairat Sazhanov, the Central Election Committee representative in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, turnout abroad was 44.2% [RU], significantly less. Voters outside the borders vote at the embassies, often several days before election day.

While the administration brags that young people and pensioners voted first, other see this as a sign of coercion.

The EU Parliament has already weighed in saying elections were much more transparent this time around: “‘If anyone expected me to criticize the elections, then I have to disappoint them,’ Latvian MP said at a press-briefing.”

Eurasianet has a nice article citing a number of voters if you want to get a feel for what the people think. A few revealing quotes:

“I voted for the leader. I don’t believe there to be any alternative candidates,” said Muslima, a businesswoman who gave only her first name. “He does a lot for the people, though there are minuses, to be honest.” Among them she named corruption scandals involving Nazarbayev’s relatives and a lack of political debate….
First-time voter Zhibek Iskhanova, 18, said she’d voted for Nazarbayev because there was “no worthy competition.” “We’re not developing badly from a financial and economic point of view,” she said. “I’m not interested in politics.”

Another first-time voter, 20-year-old Almaz Mukashev, said he’d voted “for the leader.” Why? “I don’t know.”

Student Olzhas Smailov, also voting for the first time, said he wanted to vote against all candidates and had “a small shock” when he realized that the voting system didn’t allow that option. “I don’t think this was a real presidential race. There was no worthy opponent,” Smailov said after casting a blank voting slip into the ballot box in protest.

China’s Xhinhua has some nice photos of a voting station in Almaty.

And in my nomination for funniest item of the week, at least one candidate announced that he had voted for Nazarbayev, instead of himself. The Moscow Times quotes Mels Yeleusizov as saying: “He is the winner. It was kind of a sports event,…He has won, and I shake his hand.”

Preliminary results will be announced Monday morning.