Azernews.Az

ASTANA – Kazakstan`s Central Election Commission denied two more candidates registration in that country's presidential election. The leader of Union of Muslims of Kazakhstan Murat Telibekov and a retired officer of the Interior Affairs Ministry Birzhanu Dilmagambetov were both refused registration, Interfax reported.

Telibekov dropped out of the race, when he deliberately missed the language exam appointment.

Dilmagambet refused to take the exam over his 37-years long grudge against one of the members of the linguistic commission, who reportedly misrepresented him in a children's magazine article.

Only one week is left until the end of the registration of candidates for the presidential elections. At the moment the only candidate that has been granted the registration is the incumbent president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Ten out of 22 applicants have proved their language proficiency in Kazakh and currently collecting signatures of their electorate.

Among those ten are the Senator and leader of the Party of Patriots Gani Kasimov; leader of the unregistered environmental movement "Menin Kazakstan" Musagali Duambekov; publisher of the Ak Tarlan newspaper Salim Oten, director of Nur Islam travel agency Kanat Turageldiyev, Chairman of Environmental Union "Tabigat" Mels Eleusizov, Guldan Tokbayeva, currently unemployed; Secretary of the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan Zhambyl Ahmetbekov, chairman of National Anti-Corruption Committee Zhaksybay Bazilbayev, Zheltoksan movement activist Kurmangazy Rakhmetov and an entrepreneur from Almaty Serik Sapargali.

The other 11 contenders dropped out of the race after either neglecting the exam or failing to pass it.

A presidential candidate has to collect no less than 91,010 support signatures to run for president and pay an 800,000 tenge admission fee to the CEC.