Kazakhstan's First Qurultay Elections Begin

ASTANA, Aug 23 (Bernama-Qazinform) -- Kazakhstan's first-ever elections for deputies of the country's new unicameral Qurultay began on Sunday, Qazinform News Agency reported.

All polling stations across Kazakhstan have opened for voting. They will operate from 7 am to 8 pm.

Meanwhile, 107 polling stations opened an hour earlier, at 6 am. Of these, 79 are located abroad at Kazakhstan's diplomatic missions in 61 countries. Polling stations in Japan and South Korea were among those that opened at 3 am Astana time.

The last polling station to open will be the one at the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in San Francisco, which will open at 7 pm Astana time.

At the same time, at some polling stations, including those located at military units, continuously operating industrial facilities, shift workers' settlements, holiday resorts, sanatoriums, hospitals and other facilities, the precinct election commission may declare voting complete at any time if all voters included on the electoral roll have cast their ballots.

Kazakhstanis will vote for one of seven political parties participating in the elections. Following the vote, seats in the Qurultay will be distributed among the parties that surpass the legally established threshold.

The ballot paper lists the names of the political parties in the order determined by a random draw, as well as a "None of the above" option. Seven parties are participating in the elections, each of which has nominated its candidates.

On election day, voters are prohibited from taking photos or videos of completed ballots or publishing such materials. Election campaigning is also prohibited.

Opinion polls related to the elections cannot be conducted inside polling stations or voting premises on election day. The publication of election poll results in the media and online is also prohibited.

A total of 777 foreign observers representing 42 countries and 13 international organisations will monitor the voting process. They include 138 members of parliament from 41 countries.

-- BERNAMA-QAZINFORM