Astana, 21 November 2022 (TDI): Seventh Presidential Election was held in Kazakhstan on 20th November 2022. The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, first proposed holding an early presidential election on 1st September 2022.
Originally the elections were planned to be in December 2024. But following the situation in January & the ensuing constitutional referendum, President Tokayev called for early presidential elections. On 21, he published a decree ordering the early election.
Candidates
A total of six candidates stood for the seat of President. The candidates included current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, nominated by the People’s Coalition; & Karakat Abden, nominated by the National Alliance of Professional Social Workers.
The other candidates were Meiram Kazhyken, nominated by the Amanat Commonwealth of Trade Unions; Nurlan Auesbayev, running for the National Social Democratic Party; Saltanat Tursynbekova, running for the Qazaq Analary.
The campaigning process continued till 18th November.
Voting Day
In total, 11,950,485 persons in Kazakhstan were eligible to vote. Voting took place at 68 polling places spread across 53 nations for citizens living or traveling abroad.
Out of the 11,950,485 eligible voters in the nation, 2,792,962 have cast ballots as of 10 a.m. local Astana time. At 8 p.m. local Astana time, the polls were all closed nationwide.
Due to the time zone difference, voting ended at 9 p.m. local Astana time in the regions of Aktobe, Atyrau, West Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda, and Mangystau.
As of 10 p.m. local Astana time on November 20, the Central Election Commission (CEC) stated that the total voter turnout has been 69.43 percent.
Results of the Elections
After winning 81,31% of the vote, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is declared the winner of the presidential election in Kazakhstan. The Central Election Commission (CEC) made this announcement today after counting the ballots.
Furthermore, according to the exit poll, Meiram Kazhyken of the Amanat Commonwealth of Trade Unions received 2.23 percent of the vote, followed by Nurlan Auesbayev of the National Social Democratic Party with 2.17 percent.
While Saltanat Tursynbekova of the Qazaq Analary-Dasturge Zhol public association received 2.08 percent, Karakat Abden of the National Alliance of Professional Social Workers had 2.54 percent, lastly, Zhiguli Dairabayev of the Auyl Party had 3.33 %.
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Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also cast his vote yesterday. He said that if he won, “the government will remain in office, but point-by-point changes in the composition of the government and other agencies will of course take place.”
At the conclusion of the year, he added, he would declare the date of the legislative elections. According to recent constitutional amendments, President Tokayev will serve for seven years without being eligible for reelection.
Congratulatory Messages
Leaders from all over the world congratulated President Tokayev for his victorious win. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin congratulated Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and said that they will work together to expand their relations.
The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev also congratulated the newly elected President of Kazakhstan.
Moreover, the Embassies of Kazakhstan in Brussels, Romania, and Bern highlighted the win of the Kazakh President.
The Embassies in Japan, Spain, Netherlands, Singapore, Jordan, Oman, Mongolia, Serbia, Sofia, Sweden, South Korea, Estonia, Croatia, Geneva, India, UK, Hongkong, Finland, Dushanbe, Strasbourg, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, France, Prague, Poland, Budapest also mentioned the win.
