Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has had a widely expected crushing election victory, with early results showing he has won 97.7% of the vote, the BBC reported.

The country's Central Election Commission said that there had been a record turnout of 95.11% for the poll.

The result, giving 74-year-old Mr Nazarbayev a fifth consecutive five-year term, had never been in doubt.

The president has promised economic and social stability in the oil-rich Central Asian state.

He ran virtually unopposed as his two opponents were both seen as pro-government.

Human rights groups accuse the authorities of systematically repressing the opposition.