Kazakh Leader Extends Rule With 97.7% Of Vote

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has extended his 26-year grip on power in the oil-rich former Soviet republic after securing 97.7% of the vote in an election where the opposition did not field a candidate.

The 74-year-old former steelworker said the record turnout of 95.22% "demonstrated the unity of Kazakhstan's people" and their support for his plans for the country.

The crushing landslide victory, which gives the former Communist Party boss a fifth term in charge, was celebrated in cities across the country with fireworks and flash mobs, while some babies born in hospitals on Sunday and Monday were given election-themed names.

Although stable in a region dogged by ethnic violence, Kazakhstan has been criticised by the West and human rights groups for crackdowns on dissent.

The state bordering both Russia and China has never held an election deemed free and fair by international monitors.

Mr Nazarbayev, who has run the country since 1989, said he had a mandate for his plans to make Kazakhstan one of the 30 most developed countries in the world.

He said: "Without this level of general trust it would be difficult to work on realising such aims.

"The record high turnout at the vote demonstrated the unity of Kazakhstan's people, their desire to live in a stable state and their support for the programme I put forward before them."

The president actually increased his share of the vote in this latest election, securing nearly 96% of ballots at the last poll in 2011.

Mr Nazarbayev has promoted market reforms and attracted $200bn in direct foreign investment, turning his nation into the second-largest economy in the former Soviet Union and the biggest former Soviet oil producer after Russia.

Kazakhstan has built good links with neighbouring Russia and China as well as the US and the European Union.