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Nur-Sultan (AP) - Accompanied by protests, a new parliament was elected in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan on Sunday.
According to the Central Election Commission in the capital Nur-Sultan, the turnout of 63.3 percent was significantly lower than five years ago.
The first results were expected on Monday night.
A victory for the ruling party Nur Otan was expected in advance.
11.9 million voters were called to vote.
Five parties with 312 candidates were admitted.
They had to pass the seven percent hurdle to enter the parliament.
The Social Democratic Party boycotted the vote.
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There were protests against the election in the metropolis of Almaty.
Several people have been temporarily arrested, according to reports by the Kazakh media.
The demonstrators had therefore called for a boycott of the vote.
President Kassym-Shomart Tokayev said when casting his vote at a polling station: "There is a protest mood in every country in the world."
Dozens of activists had already been arrested in the past few weeks.
After Tokayev's election in June 2019, there were protests against the authoritarian leadership in several cities of the ex-Soviet republic.
Hundreds of people were taken into police custody at the time.
The 67-year-old had taken over the office from long-term president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had retired after around 30 years in power.
Nazarbayev, however, still holds several influential offices and is still considered the most powerful man in the country.
His daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva ran again this time.
She had only been fired from the House of Lords last spring.
She was considered the most powerful woman in the country.
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Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had already criticized violations of democratic standards in the parliamentary elections five years ago.
A new OSCE report states that fundamental freedoms protected in the constitution could be restricted by changes in the law.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210110-99-972788 / 2
OSCE on election in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan Electoral Commission