Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev claimed victory in the country's presidential election, saying preliminary figures showed he won Sunday's vote.
"Preliminary data from the Central Election Commission and exit poll data have established that the Kazakh people, our citizens, approve of the work I have been doing all these 20 years," the Kazakh president said on Monday.
"What other honours, what other support is needed for a person who heads the country -- the president," the veteran Kazakh leader said in apparent reference to Western criticism for the vote.
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Nazarbayev's comments came during a visit to the headquarters of his Nur Otan ruling party and were issued before the official release of results by the Central Election Commission, whose report is expected later Monday.
An exit poll by the pro-government ASIP agency said the incumbent won 94.82 percent of the vote while officials put final turnout at 89.9 percent -- both figures besting Nazarbayev's performance in his last re-election in 2005.
