Protests Erupt as Kazakhs Elect Longtime Ruler's Favored Successor
- Tokayev wins 71% as Nazarbayev continues managed transition
- Police detain hundreds of protesters in two biggest cities
Police officers detain opposition supporters during a rally in Nur-Sultan on June 9.
Photographer: Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP via Getty Images
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Kazakhs elected former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev’s favored successor as president amid street protests, as international observers criticized the conduct of the vote in central Asia's largest energy producer.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won Sunday’s ballot with 71%, defeating six other candidates, according to a central election commission statement broadcast by state TV, which put turnout at 77.4%. Police arrested more protesters on Monday, Kazakh media reported, after hundreds of demonstrators were detained in a rare eruption of dissent during the vote.