ASTANA, March 19. /TASS/. The voter turnout at Sunday’s parliamentary and local elections in Kazakhstan was 54.19% as of 10:00 p.m. (19:00 p.m. Moscow time) when all polling stations in the country were closed, Konstantin Petrov, deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), told a briefing.
"As of 10:00 p.m. ballot papers had been handed out to 54.19% of eligible voters," he said.
The vote will be considered valid regardless of the voter turnout. Polling stations in several regions located in a different time zone were opened one hour later, hence, they closed one hour later. Seventy-seven more polling stations were organized in 62 states, including five in Russia. Voting still continues at 44 polling station in several countries.
The voter turnout at 8:00 p.m. at the previous parliamentary polls in January 2021 was 63.1%
Seven political forces are vying for seats in the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament. The early polls are held under the mix system, with 70% of lawmakers being elected by party tickets and 30% - in one-seat constituencies.
First exit poll results will be announced after midnight and preliminary voting results will be made public on Monday morning.