Exit polls after early elections in Kazakhstan, on Sunday, showed the incumbent President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, ahead of his rivals by a wide margin.
The first poll was conducted by the Open Society Institute for International and Regional Studies, with the participation of 304,000 voters from different regions of Kazakhstan.
According to the poll, Tokayev came first with 82.45 percent of votes, far outperforming his opponent in the early elections.
Tokayev also got 85.52 percent of the vote in an exit poll conducted by the Institute for Community Policy of the Amanat party in 600 boxes.
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After the results of the polls appeared, Tokayev visited a polling station in the capital, Astana, and met his voters, describing the elections as “historic.”
Seven candidates competed in the early elections that took place on Sunday in Kazakhstan, with a total number of voters of 11,950,485.
The elections come after a constitutional referendum last June, following January protests at the beginning of the year over the increase in gas prices, which resulted in casualties and riots.
According to the new constitutional amendments, the president is elected for one term of 7 years, which cannot be extended.
The elections are being observed by 642 foreign observers, including representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of Turkic States, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the heads of the supreme electoral bodies in 15 countries.
The preliminary results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on Monday at the latest, and the final results will be announced no later than November 27.