Türkiye pleased with 'successful' presidential election in Kazakhstan

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Ankara is pleased that Sunday’s early presidential elections in Kazakhstan were completed "successfully in a calm atmosphere," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

"We attach great importance to the security and stability of Kazakhstan, with which we have deep historical ties and enjoy very close relations, and we hope that the results of the elections will be auspicious for the friendly and brotherly Kazakh people," the ministry said in a statement.

Nearly 12 million voters cast ballots to elect a new president after current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in September called for early elections, saying the polls would launch "an electoral cycle that will lead to a radical reset of the entire political system."

Tokayev took over as president in March 2019, succeeding Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled the oil-rich Central Asian nation for three decades.