Tokayev votes in Kurultai parliamentary election

Tengrinews.kz — Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has cast his vote in Kazakhstan’s Kurultai parliamentary election.
The President voted in the Kurultai election at polling station No. 520, located at the Palace of Independence in Astana.
After voting, the Head of State held a briefing for media representatives.

“Without a doubt, today is a truly historic day for our country. For the first time, we are holding elections to the unicameral Kurultai. This is an important historic event. United as one nation, we are carrying out large-scale reforms. You are all well aware of this and are witnessing the changes taking place. We have managed to achieve significant results. At the same time, there is still a great deal of work ahead, and the goals before us are of particular importance. Today’s election is only the beginning of this major work,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

Kazakhstan elects new parliament
On Sunday, August 23, Kazakhstan is holding elections to the unicameral Parliament — the Kurultai. These are the country’s tenth parliamentary elections since 1991 and the first since the adoption of the new Constitution, under which the Mazhilis and Senate ceased operating and their deputies were dismissed.
Kazakhstan will now have a new legislative body — the Kurultai — instead of a bicameral parliament. It will consist of 145 deputies elected for five-year terms. After the election, the deputies will elect the chair of the Kurultai and three deputy chairs.
Seven parties are competing for the 145 seats: Adilet, Auyl, Ak Zhol, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, Baitak, the People’s Party of Kazakhstan and Respublica. The ballot also includes a “None of the Above” option.
Due to time differences, Kazakhstanis abroad were among the first to vote, including those in Japan and South Korea. In Kazakhstan, 107 polling stations opened at 6:00 a.m., while the rest began operating at 7:00 a.m. Voting will continue until 8:00 p.m.
A total of 10,423 polling stations are open, with more than 12.6 million registered voters.