Kazakhstan has opened more than 10,400 polling stations for the first election to the country’s new 145-seat unicameral legislature, the Kurultai.
Polling stations across the country opened at 7:00 am local time (0200 GMT) on Sunday and are scheduled to close at 8:00 pm (0300 GMT).
Some polling stations at military facilities, shift-worker settlements, continuous-production facilities and specialised institutions opened an hour earlier.
Kazakh citizens can also vote at 79 polling stations at diplomatic missions in 61 countries. Voting has been suspended in Iran and Ukraine for security reasons, while no polling station was established at the Kazakh Embassy in Ethiopia because there are no registered Kazakh citizens there.
First vote under new constitution
The election is being held under a new constitution adopted this year that abolished Kazakhstan’s previous bicameral parliament and replaced it with a single-chamber legislature of 145 deputies.
Voters are choosing among seven parties — Adilet, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, Baitak, the People’s Party of Kazakhstan, Auyl, Ak Zhol and Respublica — as well as a “none of the above” option.
The new Kurultai will be elected entirely through party lists, replacing the previous system that combined party-list and single-mandate elections. Parties must secure more than 5% of the vote to enter parliament.
First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Erlan Karin described the election as “the beginning of a new stage” in Kazakhstan’s “national reset”.
“These elections are not ordinary elections. These elections are truly of historic importance because the next stage of the national reset begins after the adoption of the new Constitution,” Karin told reporters after voting in Astana.
He said the election would provide fresh momentum to Kazakhstan’s political transformation and modernisation.
Security measures
Kazakh police have been placed on heightened alert for election day, Interior Ministry spokesman Shyngys Alekeshev said.
He said all polling stations had been inspected for security and placed under round-the-clock protection.
Authorities said the situation remained stable, with no serious public-order violations reported.
Prosecutors said eight violations of election legislation had been identified during the campaign period, including three cases involving illegal election-related opinion polling and five involving campaign violations.
The Central Election Commission reported voter turnout of 17.96 percent three hours after polling stations opened nationwide. About 12.6 million voters are registered for the election.
