Ballots are being cast in Kazakhstan in a mainly ceremonial election that is almost certain to return Nursultan Nazarbaev to the presidential office for another five years.
There are three other candidates, but none is seen as offering anything more than a token challenge to the 70-year-old Nazarbaev.
None of the three other candidates has openly campaigned against the authoritarian Nazarbaev, who has ruled Kazakhstan for more than 20 years, since Soviet times.
The three candidates have even said they would be pleased to see Nazarbaev formally secure another term.
The Kazakh opposition has denounced the election, which is being held two years early, as a farce and called for a voter boycott.
The early election was called after a proposed referendum to extend Nazarbaev's term to 2020 was rejected by Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council.
More than 9 million people are registered to vote in the Central Asian nation of more than 16 million people.
Monitors from the Organization For Security And Cooperation In Europe are observing the election and are expected to release a report about the vote in the oil-rich Central Asian state.
Kazakhstan has never held an election that has been evaluated as free or fair by international monitors.
compiled from agency reports
