Kazakhstan's pro-government party wins parliamentary election

Kazakhstan’s pro-government Adilet Party won a landslide victory in a parliamentary election, officials announced Monday, a result expected to further strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s grip on power in Central Asia's largest nation.Adilet, which is led by the former head of Tokayev’s presidential administration, won 71% of Sunday's vote, Kazakhstan’s central electoral commission said, according to preliminary results.The second-place Auyl Party won 6.26% of the vote, with three other parties – the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, Respublica and Aq Jol – reaching the 5% threshold needed to win a place in parliament. Election monitors for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the vote was marred by a lack of distinct political opposition, with “all contesting parties supporting the incumbent president’s policies.”Some 74% of the country’s 12.6 million eligible voters took part in the election, the central electoral commission said, which was the first vote to Kazakhstan’s new single-chamber parliament.Known as the Kurultai, the new body is the culmination of a constitutional overhaul initiated by Tokayev in March, when 87% of voters supported a re...