Kazakhs begin voting in election set to tighten president's power

Kazakhs began voting on Sunday, in a snap parliamentary election that looked set ​to strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's power over the ‌Central Asian country, a major energy and minerals exporter.

The 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 that the new ​constitution allowed Tokayev, who took office in 2019, ​to run for a fresh seven-year term.

Opinion polls show a large majority for Adilet, a pro-Tokayev party founded ​only months ago, and into which the ​previous ruling party Amanat, which had dominated Kazakh politics ‌since ⁠the 1990s, has dissolved itself.

Several opposition parties, all of which are seen as broadly loyal to Tokayev, are also contesting the election.

Voting in ​the capital, ​Astana, Tokayev ⁠told journalists it was too early to say whether he would ​seek another term of office.

Tokayev was ​the ⁠chosen successor of Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. He broke with his predecessor after a ⁠2022 ​bout of unrest that he ​has cast as a coup attempt by Nazarbayev allies.

- Reuters