Kazakhs Vote for Parliament as Economy Strains in Oil Slump
- Nazarbayev called early elections after warning of `crisis'
- Observers say parties differ little in `low key' campaign
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Voting has ended in early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan called after President Nursultan Nazarbayev warned of a “real crisis” facing the Central Asian nation because of the slump in oil prices.
Six parties are competing for 98 elected seats in the 107-member parliament, which also has nine appointed delegates. Polls closed Sunday at 8 p.m. and turnout was 77.1 percent, with the lowest level of votes cast in the second city, Almaty, at 34.1 percent, the Kazakh central election commission said by e-mail.