The votes in the referendum in Kazakhstan have been counted: Around 66 percent of Voters back constitutional changes to weaken presidential power.

Sultan only.

Five months after heavy protests, the population of the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan in Central Asia voted in a referendum on constitutional amendments to weaken the Presidential power approved by a large majority.

For the changes, 80, percent of voters voted against 66,66 percent, announced the head of Kazakhstans electoral commission Nurlan Abdirov, according to the Russian news agency Interfax with. Voter turnout was officially 68,06 percent.

Among other things, the Constitution prohibits now relatives of the President to hold high government offices in Kazakhstan. The regulation affects both the incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev. The referendum will also strip the latter of the honorary title of Elbassy - "Leader of the Nation" - which in the past gave him political influence even after his resignation.

At the beginning of January, violent social and later also political protests and riots broke out in the ex-Soviet republic. These were crushed. According to media reports, the violent clashes have claimed more than 200 deaths. To combat the unrest, troops from the Russian-dominated military alliance OKVS (Collective Security Council Organization), among others, were briefly deployed to Kazakhstan. (dpa)