ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev cast his vote in the parliamentary election to the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Parliament, and the maslikhats, local representative bodies, which began on March 19 in the country, the Akorda press service reported.
President Tokayev casts his ballot at the polling station in the capital’s Schoolchildren Palace. Photo credit: akorda.kz.
The President was among the first who voted at the polling station in the Al-Farabi Palace of Schoolchildren once the voting began.
Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov and other top government officials were also reported to have voted in the early hours on Sunday. Speaking to reporters at the polling station, he said that under the Constitution the Government is about to resign in the front of the newly elected Mazhilis. He also provided some statistics saying last year investment in fixed capital grew 8 percent, while the number of small and medium sized enterprises also grew by 20 percent.
Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov. Photo credit: Ukimet telegram channel.
The polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and will operate until 8 p.m. local Astana time without breaks. More than 12 million people are eligible to vote in the parliamentary election.
According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), as of 8:15 a.m. local time, 10,146 polling places opened across Kazakhstan and 18 polling stations at the country’s foreign missions abroad.
