France is in the running to build this plant, as are Russia and China, the two main powers in the region, as well as South Korea.
Kazakhs are called to the polls on Sunday in a rare referendum on the construction of the first nuclear power plant in this Central Asian country, the world’s leading producer of uranium but with an electricity deficit. Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. local time (3 a.m. in France) and will close at 8 p.m., announced the Electoral Commission, while the results are expected Monday morning after polls at midnight local time.
France, via EDF, is in the running to build this plant, as are Russia and China, the two main powers in the region, as well as South Korea. According to President Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, this will be the “largest project in the history of independent Kazakhstan” in the event of adoption, which is beyond doubt. Because the campaign in favor of «oui» has been one-sided in this country which, despite a stated desire to ease pressure on civil society since the election of Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev in 2019, maintains its authoritarian reflexes.
And to ensure high participation, the authorities notably authorized Kazakhs to vote even if they are not registered on the electoral lists, while buses in large cities are free on Sunday. “The referendum itself is another proof of the enormous changes that have taken place in Kazakhstan over the past five years, a new clear manifestation of the concept of a listening state”welcomed Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev before the vote. However, opponents of the construction, who fear an ecological catastrophe as a consequence of a possible accident, are having difficulty making themselves heard: dozens of them were arrested in the weeks preceding the referendum, according to local private media.
Rich in oil, rare metals and producer of almost half of the world’s uranium, Kazakhstan hopes, thanks to nuclear power, to finally fill its chronic energy deficit, particularly in the south where half of the approximately twenty million Kazakhs live. The question of the atom is sensitive in Kazakhstan after the approximately 450 Soviet nuclear tests carried out between 1949 and 1989, exposing 1.5 million people to radiation. The power plant is to be built near the half-abandoned village of Ulken (south), on the banks of Lake Balkhash, the second largest in Central Asia.
Related News :