Nuclear power plant receives approval in Kazakhstan
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kazakhstan has announced the preliminary results of an Oct. 6 national referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant.
“As of 8 a.m. of Oct. 7, the votes at 10,323 polling stations in all regions of the country and abroad have been tallied,” said CEC Chairman Nurlan Abdirov at an Oct. 7 press briefing.
A total of 12,284,487 Kazakh citizens were eligible to participate in the vote, with 7,820,204 casting their ballots, resulting in a voter turnout of 63.66%.
The key question presented to citizens was whether they supported the construction of a nuclear power plant in the country. Preliminary results show that a significant majority, 5,561,937 voters (71.12%), were in favor of the project, while 2,045,271 (26.15%) opposed it.
Of the votes cast, 130,267 were classified as invalid. Additionally, 82,729 ballots were considered valid but were not included in the final count due to voters marking two responses instead of one, which disqualified those ballots.
Voting patterns varied by region. The Turkistan Region reported the highest support, with 693,766 votes in favor and 178,148 against. The Almaty Region followed closely, with 495,291 supporting the construction and 174,622 opposing it.
Abdirov indicated that the final results will be officially disclosed during a Central Election Commission (CEC) meeting, with the specific date and time to be announced in due course.
