Less Than Hoped for, More Than Expected: How NPP Referendum Went in Kazakhstan

Orda.kz has put together a report on how the October 6th referendum went.

Low Key

Voting was seemingly active at most polling stations — at least in Astana. By 10 a.m., every fifth or sixth voter included in the lists had already voted in the country, or two out of 11.

By two o'clock in the afternoon, more than half of the voters had cast their ballots.

As of 2:00 p.m., 6,339,425 citizens, or 51.77% of those included in the voting lists, had received ballots nationwide. Thus, the referendum was declared valid. 

Meanwhile, other forces, both domestic and foreign, attempted to cause a stir among social network users, disseminating information about deceptive authorities, how the matter of constructing a nuclear power plant had already been decided, and the contractor determined. Different countries were named, depending on the necessary context. 

Representatives of an association led by a well-known Kazakh figure who is outside the country proposed to come to the protest action at 2 p.m. in an organized manner. In Almaty, the rendezvous spot was the old square, in Astana -  Jastar Palace.

Journalists arrived at the designated places and found melancholic police officers. Both spent hours in the bright autumn sun around barriers and paddy wagons. 

 No one showed up. Journalists talked with the police and dispersed.

At this time, briefings by representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were regularly held at the Central Communications Service.

The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs information policy department, Shyngys Alekeshev, also the department's official representative, periodically reported how the police “continue to ensure law and order and public safety.”

Today, more than 33 thousand police officers and National Guard servicemen are on duty around the clock. The situation in the country is stable. No serious violations of public order have been registered. Visual monitoring of streets and voting places continues using video surveillance cameras of the operational control centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the official representative reported.

He requested that the police officers' lawful requests be understood and that in the event of a violation of public order, one should contact the on-duty units of the internal affairs agencies or call 102.

A Fiasco, Ladies and Gentlemen.

The services that manage the image of the head of state and coverage of his activities had a peculiar way of handling things. There was no advance notice of where President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev would vote, and no accreditation was conducted. 

Journalists, already accustomed to such peculiarities, were understanding. Ensuring the President's safety and the confidentiality of his travel routes is quite reasonable.

But there was more to it than just that.

We waited from six o'clock in the morning at the polling station where the president usually voted earlier - in the Palace of Schoolchildren. At some point, state security officers arrived there, canine handlers with dogs. The team from the president's QRTC arrived, they were setting up cameras, microphones, testing the equipment. We concluded that Qasym-Jomart Toqayev would definitely vote here, as everyone had arrived. But then, just as quickly as they unpacked, they packed everything up and left, one of our colleagues told us.

The head of state voted at another polling station at that moment, where selected journalists were taken by bus. 

And they were not allowed to tell their colleagues where Toqayev was voting.

After the vote, the President answered questions from the journalists and spoke about who should build the nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan if the people support it:

"If Kazakhstanis say 'yes' in the referendum, the NPP should be built by an international consortium of countries with the most advanced technologies,"  Qasym-Jomart Toqayev emphasized.

He also stated that he has great respect for Kazakhstan's journalists.

I know you all, I respect you. This year we gave journalists apartments. I am now accumulating housing stock so that next year to help journalists obtain housing, said the president. 

We are sincerely grateful to the head of state for his respect and care. We cannot say the same about his PR team.

The President's press service already distinguished itself at the IX Congress of Judges. They prohibited journalists from taking photos and videos even from the screen streaming the courtroom.

Happiness

Individuals, officials, and opinion leaders voted in unison but unenthusiastically. They came, filled out ballots, and commented sluggishly.

Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev, Prosecutor General Berik Asylov, and other government officials were spotted at the polling stations.  

The country's first president also made an appearance. Nursultan Nazarbayev looked cheerful. After the vote, he refused to comment, only wishing happiness. During his presidency, Nazarbayev spoke about the need to build a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. 10 years ago, he even reflected on this idea in a national address, noting it was a matter of time. But during the preparation for the referendum, Nazarbayev said nothing.

Celebrities also came to the polling stations along with other less conventional voters.

On Paper

At one polling station, two people were seen entering the voting booth, although a voter must be alone by law. According to Azattyq, ballot stuffing may have occurred at another polling station. 

Local commissions had their issues with observers, especially independent ones. Rakhat Sadykov, a 'Yerkіndіk Qanaty" representative, was removed from the polling station at the Eurasian University in Astana. He allegedly took a video of voter lists with personal data on his phone.

I was not simply taking a video, as the chair of the precinct referendum commission says, but I was recording violations. The commission's commentary says that I allegedly intentionally filmed the list of voters, which is a disclosure of personal data. No. I was taking videos, recording violations, namely, the inclusion of outsiders who do not belong to this precinct, do not live there, to some additional list. Such an action is illegal if there is no basis for it. The basis is an absentee ballot or a statement addressed to the chair, which was not done, the observer explained. 

However, he was still removed.

Another independent observer from the Youth Information Service of Kazakhstan also shared a story about. Police officers removed her from the polling station right before the vote count. They claimed the young woman stepped on a computer cable, allegedly intentionally trying to turn it off and thereby disrupting the work of the polling station referendum commission. 

Meanwhile, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mazahir Panakhov, answering questions from journalists, praised the Kazakh Central Referendum Commission for caring for people with disabilities. And, of course, he reported that he did not see any violations at the polling stations.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Organization of Turkic States (OTG), and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) also spoke about the referendum's openness, legality, and absence of violations.

Preliminary Numbers

Polling stations in Kazakhstan closed at 20:00, and vote counting began. At 21:00, the Central Election Commission presented preliminary results on the voter turnout. 

Across the country as a whole, as of 20:00, 7,820,918 citizens out of 12,244,683 people on the voting lists received ballots. The preliminary final turnout was 63.87%,  reported the Secretary of the Central Committee, Mukhtar Yerman. 

After midnight, the initial exit poll data surfaced. According to the exit polls conducted by the Institute of Comprehensive Social Research, 69.8% of respondents in Astana voted for, while 30.2% of survey participants voted against.

The AMANAT party's Institute for Public Policy poll showed a ratio of 72.3% in favor to 27.7% against.

The Institute of Eurasian Integration, in turn, reported that 71.8% of respondents were in favor, while 28.2% were against it. On October 6, voting at polling stations in Kazakhstan started at 7:00 a.m. and continued until 8:00 p.m. 

The following day, Nurlan Abdirov, the head of the Central Electoral Commission, announced the preliminary results. 5,561,937 people (71.12%) supported the construction of a nuclear power plant. 2,045,271 Kazakhstanis voted against (26%, taking into account spoiled ballots).

The ballot included one question: “Do you agree with the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?” The choices were “Yes, I agree” or “No, I do not agree.”

The referendum has been declared valid.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. The article has been updated to reflect the current situation as of 07/10/24. For accuracy, please refer to the original piece published in Russian on 07/10/24.