Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev wins new term in office
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev won a new term at the helm of Central Asia's largest economy by a landslide in Sunday's election, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said, Reuters reported.
Nazarbayev, a 74-year-old former steelworker who has ruled the oil-rich nation since 1989, won 97.7 percent of the vote, CEC head Kuandyk Turgankulov told a news briefing on Monday. Turnout was 95.22 percent, he said.
Nazarbayev was virtually unchallenged, since no strong opposition rivals were running. His only two contenders were a low-profile Communist Party functionary and a loyal former regional governor.
Nazarbayev, a former Communist Party boss, won nearly 96 percent of the vote in the previous election in April 2011.