REVISES HEADLINE, SPOT & LEDE; ADDS FURTHER INFORMATION & LATEST DATA BY KAZAKH CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – Over 50% of Kazakh voters cast their ballots, and many lined up in polling stations across the Central Asian nation on Sunday to vote in a nationwide referendum on the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant.
According to Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission (OSK), 10,249 polling stations were open as of 7:00 a.m. local time (0200GMT) for more than 12.2 million registered voters.
The OSK said 74 polling stations have also opened in Kazakh diplomatic missions in 59 countries.
As of 2 p.m. local time (0900GMT), the voter turnout was %51.77, with over 6.3 million Kazakh citizens having cast their ballots, the electoral authority said.
Voting in the referendum is set to continue until 8 p.m. local time.
"A referendum is a very effective mechanism of direct democracy. Whatever decision the people make, the state will be guided by their will," President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was quoted by the Kazakh presidential press service Akorda as telling a journalist after voting in the country's capital Astana.
When asked who would construct the plant if the people voted for it, Tokayev said, "My personal vision on this issue is that an international consortium should work in Kazakhstan, which will consist of global companies with the most advanced technologies."
Earlier last month, Tokayev announced that a national referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant would be held on October 6.
The proposal for the referendum was first floated by the Kazakh president in September of last year. He described the decision to build or not build a nuclear power plant as a critical issue to Kazakhstan's future, noting that opinions in the country are divided, with safety concerns being a significant factor.
These concerns stem from the tragic legacy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in northeastern Kazakhstan, which was used for over 450 nuclear tests during the Soviet era.
The site was closed in 1991, but the memory of its impact lives on among the population.