Astana, Kazakhstan--Polling stations opened Sunday in energy-rich Kazakhstan for a ballot almost certain to re-elect 74-year-old strongman incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Voting at over 9,000 polling stations across the country began at 0100 GMT and will continue until 1400 GMT, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).
Few doubt the victory of autocrat Nazarbayev, who has ruled over the Central Asian country since before independence in 1991. If he wins the five-year term at stake, he will complete three decades as leader.
His marginalised opponents have not offered any candidates for the election but Nazarbayev will face two other rivals, both of whom are widely seen as pro-government figures.
Turgun Syzdykov, a 68-year-old former provincial official who has campaigned on an anti-globalisation platform, railing against Hollywood, hamburgers and computer games, will represent the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan.
Abelgazy Kusainov, 63, who has held several important governmental positions and currently heads the national federation of trade unions, is standing as an independent after running a campaign touching on Kazakhstan's environmental problems.
Over 9.5 million citizens will be eligible to vote in the vast country bordering both Russia and China, which has never held an election deemed free and fair by international observers.
In its interim report on the vote, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) raised concerns about Nazarbayev's "institutional advantage".
While Nazarbayev's posters and billboards are "visible throughout the country," the other two candidates have distributed "almost no campaign materials," the OSCE said.
On Monday, the CEC announced the completion of the accreditation process for over 1,000 international observers, including 168 representatives of the foreign press.
The OSCE has sent almost 300 observers to the vote, although two members of the mission had their accreditation revoked by the government at the organisation's own request, the CEC said Saturday.
AFP
