By Felix Light
ALMATY, Aug 23 (Reuters) – A newly formed pro-government party won a large majority in a snap parliamentary election in Kazakhstan on Sunday, three different exit polls showed, in a result set to cement President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s power over the country, a major energy and minerals exporter.
The exit polls, which were published on Kazakh state media, showed the Adilet party winning between 70% and 72% of the vote, with a turnout of more than 74%. The exit polls said four small opposition parties also won seats, though they too are widely seen as ultimately loyal to Tokayev.
The victory of Adilet, which was formed earlier this year by the president’s top aides and which swiftly absorbed previous long-ruling party Amanat, is likely to deepen Tokayev’s control over the country at the expense of figures more closely linked to his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
A former Soviet diplomat and top United Nations official, Tokayev has led Central Asia’s largest economy since 2019, keeping warm relations with the West, Russia and China.
Sunday’s election was triggered by the adoption of a new constitution earlier this year, which streamlines parliament from two chambers into one. Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court said last month the new constitution allowed Tokayev to run for a fresh seven-year term.
Tokayev took office as the chosen successor of Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s founding president, who ruled from 1991 to 2019. He broke with Nazarbayev after a 2022 bout of unrest that he has cast as a coup attempt by Nazarbayev allies.
Voting in the capital, Astana, Tokayev told journalists it was too early to say whether he would seek another term.
He also said he would announce his choice of vice president, an office created under the new constitution, in the next seven to 10 days, and that his choice would be a “well-known” person.
(Reporting by Felix Light and Mariya Gordeyeva;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Tomasz Janowski)
