Kazakhstan has dismissed international criticism of its presidential vote, in which incumbent Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a landslide re-election victory.
The foreign ministry said late on Monday that a report on the ballot by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ālacks objectivityā.
It contains ābiased conclusions, demonstrating a complete unwillingness to recognise the development of the internal situationā in the energy-rich Central Asian country, he said.
The ministry also accused the report of āunsubstantiated and unconfirmed allegationsā.
The OSCE said on Monday that Sundayās snap election lacked ācompetitivenessā and showed the need for reforms.
According to final results published on Tuesday, Tokayev cemented his grip on power for a second term, winning 81.31 percent of the vote.
The outcome came as no surprise, as Tokayevās five opponents were virtually unknown and none of them scored double digits.
The European Union on Tuesday urged Kazakhstan to āincrease political pluralism and citizensā participation in political lifeā and to āimplement fullyā the recommendations of the OSCE.
Brussels nevertheless said it welcomed the āwider political and socio-economic reformsā in Kazakhstan, which is rich in natural resources and located at the crossroads of important trade routes.
The country descended into chaos during protests in January over high living costs, which left more than 230 dead.
Tokayev violently suppressed the unrest and distanced himself from former ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been his mentor.
He called the snap election in a bid to open a new chapter after the unrest, saying he was seeking a ānew mandate of trustā.
The president also announced reforms, a constitutional referendum and a limit on presidential mandates that means a head of state can only serve for a single seven-year term.
However, critics of the regime remain sidelined.
The post Kazakhstan Rejects Criticism of Presidential Election appeared first on Kyiv Post.