Kazakh presidential poll criticised by international monitors

Western monitors on Monday slammed the lack of choice in Kazakhstan's presidential election, which was won by incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev with 97.7 percent of the vote.

"Voters were not offered a genuine choice between political alternatives," said Cornelia Jonker, head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission at a briefing in the capital Astana

"There were significant restrictions to the freedom of expression, as well as to the media environment," she said, adding that the two candidates Nazarbayev faced praised the incumbent president in their pre-election campaigns.
Turnout in the election was a record 95.22 percent, according to the Central Election Commission in the vast country that borders both Russia and China.  

Speaking in the capital Astana shortly after early Monday exit polls pointed to nearly total voter support, Nazarbayev said he had a mandate for his plans to make Kazakhstan one of the thirty most developed countries in the world.

"Without this level of general trust it would be difficult to work on realising such aims. The record high turnout at the vote demonstrated the unity of Kazakhstan's people, their desire to live in a stable state and their support for the program I put forward before them," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message congratulating Nazarbayev shortly after the election committee held a briefing at 0500 GMT to confirm the strongman's victor .

The congratulation came as ties between the two allies appear strained over the economic fallout from sanctions against Russia related to Ukraine.

Nazarbayev reiterated that there would be no shock devaluation of his country's tenge currency the day after the vote, despite economic difficulties.