Kazakh president wins new term against weak opposition

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev easily won a new seven-year term in a snap election in which the second biggest choice by voters was to reject all six candidates, the country’s central elections commission said Monday. Tokayev received more than 81% of the votes in Sunday’s election, according to elections commission chairman Nurlan Abdirov. Five candidates were on the ballot against President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Nearly 6% chose the “against all” option. With a short campaign period that began in late October, candidates had little opportunity to mount significant challenges.