ASTANA – Voter turnout in today’s parliamentary election has reached 14.21 percent as of 10 a.m. local Astana time, Central Election Commission (CEC) member Shavkat Otemisov announced at a press briefing on March 19.
The polling station at the Al-Farabi Palace of Schoolchildren in Astana. Photo credit: The Astana Times.
Kazakhstan is holding elections to the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament, and maslikhats, local representative bodies, today.
As of 10 a.m., 1,710,381 people out of more than 12 million eligible voters in the country have cast their ballot, according to CEC.
Voter turnout across the regions as of 10 a.m. Astana time.
Among the regions, the highest voter turnout so far is in the Zhambyl Region, with 16.54 percent, while the lowest is in the city of Almaty, with 8.51 percent.
Relatively high voter turnout is also observed in the Karagandy Region – 16.31 percent, the Pavlodar Region – 16.49 percent, and the Ulytau Region – 16.38 percent.
13.58 percent of the eligible voters cast their vote in the capital city Astana, and 12.57 percent in Shymkent.
10,223 polling stations are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. both in the country and abroad, where 77 stations in 62 countries have been made available for Kazakhstan’s citizens.
Preliminary results of the election are expected on March 20. Final results are to be tallied and announced by March 29.
