Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assured on Sunday that the elections to the new unicameral parliament (Kurultai) are only the beginning of a major effort to transform the country.
“Today’s elections are only the beginning of that major effort,” said the Kazakh leader after casting his vote at a polling station set up in the Palace of Independence.
He added that Kazakhstan is now implementing “large-scale reforms” and Kazakhs are aware of the “transformations that are taking place.”
“We have achieved significant results, but there is still much work to be done,” he said.
According to official data, by midday more than 37% of Kazakhs eligible to vote had turned up at polling stations.
These are the tenth parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan since the country’s independence and the first for a unicameral parliament.
The more than 10,000 polling stations in the country opened at 7 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT) and will close at 8:00 p.m. (15:00 GMT).
The new legislature, which was created after a constitutional referendum in March, will have 145 seats and will be elected proportionally through party lists.
The main difference for Sunday’s elections, in which seven parties will present 545 candidates, is that the ruling party has changed its name.
The Adilet (Justice) party, which was founded in May, merged a month later with Amanat, created in 1999 as a support platform for Nursultan Nazarbayev under the name Nur Otan.
According to experts, Adilet is the clear favorite, not only for victory but also to form a new constitutional majority with two-thirds of the votes, according to polls. EFE