Astana: Interim President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, also the chosen successor of former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, has won the snap Presidential elections with nearly 71 per cent of the votes, according to preliminary results shared by the country's election commission.
Tokayev's nearest rival Amirzhan Kosanov of the United National Patriotic Movement "Ult Tagdyry" has received around 16 per cent of the votes, reported Xinhua on Sunday.
The 2019 Kazakh presidential election holds significance, as it paves the way for the first time in almost thirty years for a new candidate coming to power.
Nursultan Nazarbayev had served as the President from the country's independence in 1992 until his resignation in March this year.
After Nazarbayev's resignation, the Presidentship was transferred to the then Speaker of the Senate (Upper House), Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In his address to the nation shortly after assuming Presidency, Tokayev had announced that the elections would be conducted earlier than anticipated.
A total of seven candidates ran for the Presidency this time, including Daniya Yespayeva, the first woman candidate to do so in the country's history.
The voter turnout in the elections was 77.4 per cent.
