Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secures 70.13 percent of the votes in the presidential election while his rival Amirzhan Kosanov receives 15.39 percent – exit poll
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan's interim leader and presidential candidate, speaks after voting during presidential election in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan June 9, 2019.
Nazarbayev, who had run the oil-rich former Soviet republic for almost three decades before stepping down in March, and retains sweeping powers, chose the 66-year-old diplomat as his successor, making the outcome of the vote all but certain.In the biggest protests for three years in the Central Asian country,correspondents in the main cities Nur-Sultan and Almaty saw police detain hundreds and bundle them into police vans.
But when he signed off from his presidential role with a surprise speech on national television in March, he gave a ringing endorsement to Tokayev, who as Senate speaker automatically became the interim leader.He is an honest, responsible and dependable person," Nazarbayev said. Had Nazarbayev been unable to fulfil his presidential duties at any point during these two periods, Tokayev stood next in line for office under the constitution.Chinese speaker, top UN role
He has nevertheless remained a low-key figure for much of his career and has been at pains to portray himself as modern and communicative in recent weeks, making his debut on Instagram and admitting to issuing presidential orders via WhatsApp.Nazarbayev's foreign-based political nemesis Mukhtar Ablyazov once memorably likened him to furniture that "emits a squeak when it is moved around".
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Nazarbayev ally set to win Kazakh presidential electionKassym-Jomart Tokayev, the interim president of Kazakhstan hand-picked by vetera...
Read more »
Nazarbayev ally set to win Kazakh presidential electionKassym-Jomart Tokayev, the interim president of Kazakhstan hand-picked by vetera...
Read more »
Disgruntled Novak Djokovic exits French Open to end win streakNovak Djokovic has been defeated by Dominic Thiem in the French Open semifinal, ending his grand slam winning streak
Read more »
Former ruler's loyalist tipped to win Kazakhstan's presidential electionsVoters in Kazakhstan are choosing a successor to the president who had led the Central Asian country since independence from the Soviet Union, with a longtime loyalist expected to win easily.
Read more »
This man won million-dollar lotteries twice—now his wife has won $1 million tooThe Massachusetts couple have been buying scratch-off lottery tickets for 20 years, and it paid off big.
Read more »