Kazakh ruling party wins landslide victory in parliamentary vote

Kazakhstan's ruling Nur Otan party won a landslide victory in Sunday's election for the Majilis, or the lower house of parliament, by garnering 82.15 percent of the votes, according to preliminary results announced Monday.

Two other parties, Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan and Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, or the Ak Zhol, pocketed 7.14 percent and 7.18 percent of the votes, passing the 7-percent threshold to enter the Majilis, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

Under Kazakhstan's election law, the above three parties will divide the 98 seats of the Majilis in proportion to their share of the votes. A total of 234 candidates representing six political parties had been contesting in this Majilis election, the sixth since the country's independence.

On Sunday, over 9,840 polling stations opened from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time across Kazakhstan, the largest country in central Asia. More than 7.5 million out of a total of 9.8 million eligible voters took part in the election.

An additional 65 polling stations were set up in foreign countries like China and Russia for voters traveling in those countries.

The election was monitored by 964 international observers from 103 countries and eight international organizations.

In January, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev decided to dissolve the Majilis and hold an early election in response to public calls by Majilis members.

The current Majilis was elected in 2012. In that election, Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party won an overwhelming 80 percent of the votes, securing 83 seats of the total 98 seats. Endi