Ally of Kazakhstan's longtime ex-leader wins presidency

The Central Election Commission says Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won nearly 71 percent of the vote with all the ballots counted. The results have not yet been formally confirmed.

Kazakh Interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (L) and former president Nursultan Nazarbayev attend the Astana Economic Forum in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan May 16, 2019.
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Kazakh Interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (L) and former president Nursultan Nazarbayev attend the Astana Economic Forum in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan May 16, 2019.

An ally of Kazakhstan's former president has been named winner of the presidential election in a vote marred by a crackdown on protesters who criticised the result as an orchestrated handover of power. 

The Central Election Commission in this Central Asian country said on Monday that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won nearly 71 percent of the vote with all the ballots counted. The results have not yet been formally confirmed. 

Tokayev became acting president when Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had led the country since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, abruptly stepped down.

Shortly after Nazarbayev resigned, Kazakhstan's ruling party nominated Tokayev for the presidency.

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OSCE criticises detentions

Some 500 people were taken into custody after police broke up rallies in Kazakhstan's two largest cities on Sunday. Protests erupted again on Monday with people rallying in the capital Nur-Sultan, named after the former president, and the commercial capital Almaty.

An Associated Press photographer saw at least 100 people detained by police on a central square in Almaty on Monday morning.

The observers' mission of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe on Monday criticised Kazakh authorities for dispersing the rallies.

The OSCE said in a statement that the police response "hampered the conduct of democratic elections."

"While there was potential for Kazakhstan's early presidential election to become a force for political change, a lack of regard for fundamental rights, including detentions of peaceful protesters, and widespread voting irregularities on election day, showed scant respect for democratic standards," the statement said.

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