The Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan has registered seven candidates for the presidency. The first candidate who collected the required number of signatures was the current president, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev.
According to the CEC, 313,653 signatures were collected from 17 regions of Kazakhstan in support to Tokayev. On the morning of 3 May, the Central Election Commission registered him and issued a certificate of the presidential candidate to his authorized representative – the first deputy chairman of the party Nur Otan Maulen Ashimbayev.
On the same day, candidate Sadibek Tugel, who is standing for the public association Uly dala Kyrandary (Eagles of the Great Steppe), also received an official certificate of the presidential candidate; 118,140 signatures were collected in his support.
On 4 May, the CEC registered the third candidate for the post of head of Kazakhstan to Amangeldy Taspihov from the Trade Union Federations; 119 577 people signed in support to him in fifteen regions of Kazakhstan.
On the same day, a member of the Ak Zhol (Shining Path) Democratic Party, Danya Yespayeva – the first woman in the history of Kazakhstan, received a certificate of a candidate for the presidency; 144,098 signatures in support to Yespaeva were collected in all 17 regions of Kazakhstan, of which 139,541 signatures were found to be reliable.
On 6 May, the CEC registered three more candidates. They are the representative of the party Auyl (Village) Toleutai Rakhimbekov, the candidate from the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan Zhambyl Akhmetbekov and the candidate from the movement Ұlt tagdyry (Destiny of the Nation) Amirzhan Kosanov.
Initially, nine candidates expressed a desire to participate in the presidential race. On April 29, a candidate from the Union of Builders of Kazakhstan Talgat Yergaliyev withdrew his application on participation in the presidential election.
On 2 May, a candidate from the public association Khalyk Demography (People’s Demography) Zhumatai Aliyev failed the state language examinations, making 19 mistakes in a written assignment. As a result, the Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan refused to register Aliyev as a candidate for the presidency of Kazakhstan.
The extraordinary presidential elections will be held in Kazakhstan on 9 June. After passing the exam for fluency in the state language, each candidate had to collect at least 118,140 authentic voter signatures. The campaign of candidates starts on 11 May at 18:00.
The CEC may cancel the registration of a candidate if the state revenue bodies discover that the information on income and property in the submitted declarations is unreliable. The pre-election campaign will begin immediately after the end of the registration stage and will last until 00.00 on 8 June. Day of Silence will be 8 June.
