Tokayev set to win Kazakh presidential election — initial projections

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won 82.45 percent of votes in Sunday's snap election, an exit poll carried out by the "Open Society" research institute showed on Monday.

Tokayev was widely expected to win the election and extend his rule in the oil-rich Central Asian nation by seven years.

According to first estimates from the electoral commission the runner-up, other than the 'against everyone' ballots, gained 5.2 percent. Twelve million voters were eligible to cast their ballots.

The victory of President Tokayev was all but a foregone conclusion as the 69-year-old faced no real opposition.

Rich in natural resources and located at the crossroads of important trade routes, Kazakhstan sank into chaos during protests over high living costs in January which left 238 dead.

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'No monopoly of power'

Hoping to turn over a new leaf after a turbulent year, Tokayev had said he was seeking a "new mandate of trust from the people" in this election.

After voting early on Sunday in the capital Astana, Tokayev said "the main thing is that there is no monopoly of power".

But Tokayev's promised "new Kazakhstan" still feels like deja vu, with a deserted political landscape, hardly credible opposition and political pressures.

Tokayev came to power in 2019 after winning 70 percent of the vote in an election whose outcome was inevitable after he obtained the backing of former ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev.

For the following two-and-a-half years, he played a role of loyal protege.

But Tokayev promised a smooth transition of power in the country for a "new and just Kazakhstan".

He announced reforms, a constitutional referendum and introduced single presidential terms of seven years.

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