Kazakhstan's Constitutional Referendum Ends with Over 73% Voter Turnout

The nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments in Kazakhstan has officially concluded. The Central Referendum Commission has announced preliminary voter turnout figures, confirming the legitimacy of the popular vote.

According to the commission, a total of 9,126,850 Kazakh citizens cast their ballots during the voting period from 07:00 to 20:00 local time. This represents 73.24 percent of eligible voters.

"The precinct commissions have begun counting votes," stated Mukhtar Yerman, Deputy Chairman of the Central Referendum Commission. "In accordance with current legislation, the time for counting votes at referendum precincts must not exceed twelve hours from the start of the count."

The final voter turnout varied significantly across regions. The highest participation was recorded in Kyzylorda Region at 93.04 percent, followed by Aktobe Region at 87.05 percent and East Kazakhstan Region at 86.42 percent.

Other regional turnout figures include: Zhambyl Region (85.06%), Turkestan Region (84.03%), Karaganda Region (84.30%), Kostanay Region (81.21%), Akmola Region (79.82%), Zhetysu Region (78.49%), Mangystau Region (77.89%), and Shymkent city (75.82%).

The cities of Astana and Almaty showed lower participation rates at 60.36 percent and 33.43 percent respectively.

The referendum was officially recognized as valid by 14:00 when voter participation exceeded the required threshold of more than half of eligible citizens. By that time, 6,471,378 citizens had voted, representing 51.93 percent of those on voter lists.

Turnout progressed throughout the day: by 10:00, 19.21% had voted; by 12:00, this increased to 37.54%; by 16:00, it reached over eight million voters; and by 18:00, more than seventy percent had cast their ballots.

"Preliminary results of the referendum will be announced separately," Yerman added regarding the outcome of the vote on amendments affecting approximately eighty-four percent of the country's main legal text.

The final results must be declared no later than seven days after voting concludes.