Roundup: Presidential election kicks off in Kazakhstan

Voters lined up in front of polling stations in Kazakhstan as the country's presidential election kicked off early Sunday morning in which three candidates are running for presidency, including incumbent president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

A total of 9,741 polling stations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday to receive ballots from more than 9,510,000 voters throughout the Central Asian country.

At polling station No. 82 in capital Astana, some voters showed up outside half an hour before the election started. Sharban, 77, was the first to cast her ballot at the polling station. "I cast my sacred vote for my children", she said.

Among the three candidates, Nazarbayev is nominated by the ruling Nur Otan party, Turgun Syzdykov is secretary of Communist People's Party and self-nominated Abelgazi Kusainov is chairman of Kazakhstan's Federation of Trade Unions.

President Nazarbayev's campaign focused on establishing a modern and highly efficient government, promoting the rule of law as well as boosting economy by both industrializing and diversifying the country's economy.Syzdykov's campaign put emphasis on resisting the negative influence of the Western culture and value, while Kusainov proposed to establish a eco-friendly society in Kazakhstan.

Most analysts expect Nazarbayev to win the election with overwhelming support, as his rivals are no match for him in terms of political resources, experience and prestige.

Being the only president since Kazakhstan's independence, Nazarbayev is credited with keeping the country's political stability and strong economy growth, which grants him unparalleled popularity among people. If Nazarbayev is re-elected, he will have another five years in office.

Al-Farabi, a 21-year-old student at medical school in Astana, voted for Nazarbayev.

"I'm pleased with the government's program to send students to study abroad. I hope the next government will invest more on young people in fields of natural and social science," he said.

The country's central election commission said preliminary results could be expected within 12 hours after the voting closed. The final results will be announced within seven days after the election day.

In the mean time, 858 foreign observers representing six international organizations and 37 countries had been accredited by the central election commission to monitor the election process throughout Kazakhstan.

The presidential election was originally scheduled for next year. But in February, Nazarbayev announced that Kazakhstan would hold a snap presidential election in April, answering an earlier call made by the National People's Assembly to hold early elections.

The 74-year-old leader said one of the key reasons is to avert the foreseeable collision of presidential and parliamentary elections. He also cited maintaining unity and stability in Kazakhstan in face of economic difficulties as another key reason to hold early elections.

Nazarbayev is the first and so far the only president of Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991. He has kept a support rate of more than 90 percent in all previous elections. The parliament of the country approved an amendment in 2007, allowing him unlimited participation in future presidential elections. Endi