Nursultan Nazarbayev likely to have won elections with 94% of the vote, exit pol

Incumbent Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is likely to have won the presidential elections with 94,82% of the vote, an exit poll says.

Under the constitution, the presidential elections in Kazakhstan were to be held in 2012. Nazarbayev rejected a proposal by parliament to extend his presidency for a third decade via a referendum. He issued a decree rejecting the plan after senators asked him to approve a “people’s initiative” to prolong his tenure until 2020.

The 70-year-old Kazakh leader has been in power for over 20 years. In his annual address to the people in January 2011, he said he will rule as long as his health and people will allow.