Kazakh presidential election passes without violation, voter turnout high - observers

ASTANA. Nov 21 (Interfax) - The early presidential election in Kazakhstan, which took place on November 20, was well-governed, head of the election observation mission from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming said at a press briefing on Monday.

"The preparation and conduct of the election were disciplined and well-governed, and everything went smoothly and decently. All voters demonstrated high activity," Zhang Ming said

For his part, head of the election observation mission from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Sergei Lebedev said that the presidential election in Kazakhstan passed without violation.

"It was an organized and decent election, which passed without violation of election laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan," Lebedev told reporters on Monday.

He added that the campaign was calm.

"The voter turnout differed, you know that, people in some regions and cities were more active, while the turnout in Almaty was not so high compared to other territories. Nonetheless, the general turnout was rather high in the republic. [...] The activity demonstrated by residents of Kazakhstan, voters, was quite high," Lebedev said.

In his words, the election showed the activity and matureness of Kazakh voters.

"It is a very important factor that citizens of Kazakhstan have become more mature in terms of political attitude and requirements to candidates," Lebedev said.

The early presidential election took place in Kazakhstan on November 20.

Kazakh Central Elections Commission Chairman Nurlan Abdirov said earlier, as he presented tentative election results, that incumbent Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was winning the election with 81.31% of the vote.

According to the Central Elections Commission's update, the voter turnout stood at 69.44%.