The referendum in Kazakhstan can be considered valid. Nurlan Abdirov, Head of the Central Referendum Commission, said this at a briefing on Monday.
"The total number of citizens in the Republic of Kazakhstan entitled to participate in the referendum was 11,734,642. The number of citizens who participated was 7,986,293, or 68.06%. Thus, the referendum can be considered valid," said Abdirov.
According to preliminary data of the commission, announced at a briefing on Monday, 77.18% of citizens voted for the amendments to the Constitution.
On Sunday, Kazakhstan held a referendum on constitutional amendments. Under the amendments, the powers of the head of state are curtailed, the role of parliament and local representative bodies is significantly strengthened, human rights protection is systematically strengthened, the Constitutional Court is reconstituted, the final abolition of the death penalty is enshrined and provisions on the status of the country's first leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, are excluded.
The referendum is considered valid, as the turnout exceeded the 50% threshold. Amendments to the basic law are considered adopted if more than half of citizens in no less than 12 out of 17 regions of Kazakhstan (14 regions and three cities of republican significance - Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent) voted for them.
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Photo: Ken and Nyetta/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS