DNA

Astana, Nov 21 – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has won the presidential election in Kazakhstan after receiving 81,31 % of the vote. This was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC)today after the votes were counted. According to the preliminary results, other candidates received votes as follows: ZhiguliDairabayev – 3,42 %,KarakatAbden–2,60 %, MeiramKazhyken–2,53 %, NurlanAuesbayev–2,22 %, SaltanatTursynbekova–2,12 %, against all –5,8 %.

According to the CEC, 8 300 046citizenscast their ballot, a turnout of69.44%.Voting took place at 10,101 polling stations across the country, including 68 polling stations at 53 diplomatic missions of Kazakhstan around the world.

The election was monitored by 641 observers from international organisations and foreign states. Commenting on the election process, foreign observers noted the high organisational level of the election. No violations in the conduct of the election were reported by the observers. The election was also covered by 254 foreign journalists who received accreditation.

Speaking yesterday after casting his ballot, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that if elected, “the government will remain in office, but point-by-point changes in the composition of the government and other agencies will of course take place.” He also noted that he would announce the date of parliamentary elections at the end of the year.

In line with recent constitutional changes, President Tokayev will serve a 7-year term without the right to re-election. Answering a question yesterday from a journalist on whether seven years would be enough to fulfil all the promises to the people, Tokayev said: “I believe that seven years will be enough, because this is a long time in the life of any person. The most important thing is that there will be no monopoly on powerin our country.”

This was the seventh presidential election in Kazakhstan since the country’s independence in 1991.

ISLAMABAD, NOV 21: /DNA/ – This evening, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif conveyed his warm congratulations to Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on his reelection as President with overwhelming majority in the elections held on 20th November, 2022.

During their conversation, the Prime Minister reiterated that the President’s victory was a manifestation of the confidence that the people of Kazakhstan had exhibited in him on account of  his visionary and astute leadership. He hoped that Kazakhstan will scale new heights of prosperity & development.

The Prime Minister further expressed his satisfaction on the mutual cooperation and cordial relations between both countries. The Prime Minister also reiterated his desire to work together with the Kazakhstan’s President on continued endeavors to strengthen cooperation between Pakistan and Kazakhstan to forge a strong economic partnership. 

BEIJING, NOV 21 /DNA/ – A long-awaited “loss and damage” fund to help those countries vulnerable to climate change was approved on Sunday at the end of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The consensus decision made to this effect by COP27 in Sharm-El-Sheikh (Egypt) is a momentous achievement, especially for the developing countries as they have been demanding such a fund for the past 30 years.

A report published by China Economic Net (CEN) on Monday stated, the establishment of the fund is also seen as major diplomatic achievement of Pakistan as the country galvanised international support for not only placing the issue on the agenda of the talks in in Egypt, but also pushed for a consensus agreement.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, commenting on the “loss and damage” agreement, said it is a “win for climate justice, a win for the developing world in honor of 33 million victims of Pakistan floods and millions around the world who suffer from a climate catastrophe they did not create and do not have resources to address”.

In addition to agreeing to set up a dedicated fund, countries attending COP27 also committed to establishing a transitional committee to make recommendations for countries to adopt at COP28 next year, according to a UN news release.

While emphasizing that a fund for loss and damage is essential, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that much more needs to be done to prevent the worsening of climate change, such as accelerating the phasing out of coal and the development of renewable energy.

The UN chief also stressed the need for developed countries to honor their long-delayed promise of providing $100 billion a year in climate change mitigation financing for the developing countries.

ISTANBUL, Nov 21 (AA/APP): Kazakhstan’s incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has won Sunday’s snap presidential election with over 81% of the vote, according to preliminary results on Monday.

Kazakh news agency Kazinform, citing the country’s Central Election Commission, said Tokayev won over 6.4 million votes, securing an easy victory against five little-known candidates.

Voting ended at 10 p.m. Astana time (1600GMT), with the turnout said to be 69% by the end of the day – nearly 8.3 million of around 12 million eligible voters cast ballots.

The call for early elections was made by Tokayev in late September with a decree saying the polls would launch “an electoral cycle that will lead to a radical reset of the entire political system.”

The announcement came after Tokayev approved a constitutional amendment to increase the presidential term from five years from seven while barring future presidents from serving a second term.

Another move was changing the capital’s name back to Astana after it was changed to Nur-Sultan in 2019 in a tribute to outgoing President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Tokayev took over as president in March 2019, succeeding Nazarbayev, who ruled the oil-rich Central Asian nation for three decades.