Kazakhstan Opens Over 10,000 Polling Stations for Constitutional Referendum

2026-03-15 - 06:47

The Astana Times provides news and information from Kazakhstan and around the world. ALMATY – Kazakhstan opened 10,388 polling stations across the country on March 15 for the nationwide referendum on adopting a new Constitution, according to Mukhtar Yerman, a member of the Central Referendum Commission. Kazakhstan opened 10,388 polling stations across the country on March 15 for the nationwide referendum. Photo credit: The Astana Times. Polling stations began operating at 7 a.m. Astana time, while 92 stations opened earlier at 6 a.m. In total, 12,461,796 citizens are eligible to vote. Authorities also issued 17,514 absentee certificates, allowing voters to cast ballots outside their registered localities. In addition to domestic polling stations, 71 referendum stations have been established in 54 countries to enable Kazakh citizens living abroad to participate in the vote. Voting process Polling stations will remain open until 8 p.m. Astana time, after which the vote count will begin. According to the law, the new Constitution will be considered adopted if more than half of participating voters support it, and if this majority is recorded in at least two-thirds of regions, cities of national significance and the capital. The Central Referendum Commission will report voter turnout every two hours starting from 10 a.m. According to data from territorial commissions, 2,393,844 citizens had received ballots by 10 a.m., representing 19.21% of registered voters nationwide. Regional turnout varied across the country. Among the highest participation rates were the Karagandy Region (26.64%), the Kyzylorda Region (24.02%), the Aktobe Region (21.80%), Shymkent (21.36%), and the Turkistan Region (21.21%). Other regions reported turnout around 18–20%, including Akmola (19.82%), Atyrau (19.44%), Kostanai (19.24%), and Astana (20.68%). The lowest turnout was recorded in Almaty city at 9.54%. The next turnout update is expected at 12 p.m.