Voting at more than 10 thousand polling stations of the referendum was scheduled from 07:00 (05:00 Moscow time) to 20:00 (18:00 Moscow time) local time. Several polling stations, according to the Central Commission of the Referendum, opened at 6:00 (4:00 Moscow time). 74 sites have been organized abroad for Kazakhstanis in 59 countries, including Russia: in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Astrakhan and Omsk. Sites abroad will continue to operate until 20:00 local time.
At a briefing at 19:00 local time (17:00 Moscow time), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic Roman Vasilenko said that 7,358 citizens of Kazakhstan voted at polling stations abroad, the turnout was 59.79%.
There was one question on the ballot paper for the referendum: "Do you agree with the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?". The voting participants had to choose one of two possible answers: "yes, I agree" or "no, I disagree". More than 12.2 million Kazakhstanis have entered the electoral lists. The referendum was recognized as having taken place, as more than 50% of citizens eligible to vote took part in it. According to the latest data published by the Central Commission of the Referendum, as of 18:00 local time (16:00 Moscow time), the turnout was 61.56%, about 7.5 million people voted. The highest turnout was noted in the Kyzylorda region, where 79.87% voted, the lowest was in the largest city of the republic of Alma-Ata, where 22.91% of voters cast their votes two hours before the polls closed.
To make a decision on an issue submitted to a referendum, it is necessary that more than half of the citizens who voted support it. The message of the central commission on the results of the referendum must be published within seven days after the vote, reports tass.ru.
If the majority of citizens of Kazakhstan support the construction of a nuclear power plant, it can be located in the Alma-Ata region near Lake Balkhash. The Kazakh authorities are considering several possible suppliers of nuclear technologies - the Chinese company CNNC, South Korean KHNP, Rosatom and French EDF, but the issue of choosing a vendor has not been put to a referendum. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who took part in the referendum, reported that he considers it necessary to attract a consortium of foreign companies to build the station.
