Kazakhstan opened more than 10,400 polling stations Sunday for the first elections to the country's new 145-seat unicameral legislature, the Kurultai, marking the first nationwide vote under the republic's new constitutional system.
Polling stations across Kazakhstan opened at 7 am local time (0200GMT) and will close at 8 pm (0300GMT).
Some stations at military facilities, shift-worker settlements, continuous-production facilities and specialized institutions opened an hour earlier.
Kazakh citizens can also vote at 79 polling stations established at diplomatic missions in 61 countries.
Voting abroad has been suspended in Iran and Ukraine for security reasons, while no polling station was established at the Kazakh Embassy in Ethiopia because there are no registered Kazakh citizens there.
The election is being held under a new constitution adopted this year, which abolished Kazakhstan's previous bicameral parliament and replaced it with a single-chamber legislature of 145 deputies.
Voters are choosing among seven parties — Adilet, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, Baitak, the People's Party of Kazakhstan, Auyl, Ak Zhol and Respublica — as well as a "none of the above" option.
The new Kurultai will be elected entirely through party lists, replacing the previous system that combined party-list and single-mandate elections.
Parties must receive more than 5% of the vote to enter parliament.
First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Erlan Karin described the election as "the beginning of a new stage" of Kazakhstan's "national reset."
"These elections are not ordinary elections. These elections are truly of historic importance because the next stage of the national reset begins after the adoption of the new Constitution," Karin told reporters after voting in Astana.
He said the new parliamentary election would provide fresh momentum to the political transformation and modernization processes underway in Kazakhstan.
Kazakh police have been placed on heightened alert for election day, Interior Ministry spokesman Shyngys Alekeshev said.
According to him, all polling stations had been inspected for security and placed under round-the-clock protection.
Authorities said the situation remained stable, with no serious violations of public order reported.
Prosecutors said eight violations of election legislation had been identified during the campaign period, including three cases involving illegal election-related opinion polling and five involving campaigning violations.
The Central Election Commission reported 17.96% voter turnout three hours after all polling stations in the country opened.
According to its data, about 12.6 million voters are registered for the election.
