A least two exit polls indicated a large "yes" vote in a tightly controlled referendum to decide whether Kazakhstan should build its first nuclear power plant, which supporters say will help end its reliance on coal but which opponents argue is too expensive and will be an environmental hazard.
Voters were presented with a single yes-or-no question in the October 6 referendum: "Do you agree with the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?"
The private Astana research group said its exit polling indicated that nearly 70 percent of voters were in favor of building the plant, while the Sotsis-A Institute for Social Research provided a similar result.
Official results are expected on October 7.
Despite widespread opposition, many observers had expected the referendum to pass, given the government's tight hold on Kazakhstan's political environment.
The Central Referendum Commission said voter turnout was 63.8 percent, easily surpassing the required 50 percent level to be considered valid and representing 7.82 million people.
More than 12 million citizens were eligible to vote in the referendum, which took place at some 10,000 polling stations in Kazakhstan and at about 70 diplomatic outposts abroad.
Observers reported scattered irregularities in the energy-rich but authoritarian former Soviet republic.
Kural Seytkhanul said he filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office when he observed what he said was a person dropping off five or six ballots at a polling station in the Turkistan region. He said he was removed from the station.
“There are 2,438 registered voters here, and only about 500 people came. But they reported 70 percent [turnout]. How?" he said.
Two days before the referendum, authorities detained at least 26 activists as authorities cracked down on dissent leading up to the vote, Almaty-based human rights activist Bakhytzhan Toreghozhina said on October 4.
The wave of arrests has drawn attention to the increasing restrictions on public dissent surrounding the controversial nuclear-power project.
The referendum was to determine whether Kazakhstan proceeds with the construction of the nuclear facility in the village of Ulken in the Almaty region on the shores of Lake Balkhash.
SEE ALSO: Kazakhstan's Nuclear Power Vote: Many Questions, But Just One On The BallotProponents argue that the new facility would provide clean and affordable electricity, enabling the country to maintain low energy tariffs.
However, the project has faced significant opposition from environmental groups and concerned citizens, who argue that the plant poses risks to both the environment and national security.
Critics fear that the plant could be built by Russia's state-owned nuclear agency, Rosatom, making Kazakhstan more dependent on Russia and potentially turning it into a strategic target in the event of a future conflict.
Many Kazakhs are also wary of the involvement of Rosatom due to the legacy of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and Russia's recent actions at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
While Kazakh officials have refrained from commenting directly on which foreign company might lead the project, Rosatom, along with China's CNNC, South Korea's KHNP, and France's EDF, have been named as a potential partner.
After casting his vote in Astana, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said that “an international consortium” might be involved in the construction, though he did not provide further details.