The Kazakh Central Election Commission issued a ruling on 30 September certifying the eligibility of 11 presidential candidates. The ruling verifies that the 11 candidates have met all of the commission\'s requirements, including the state Kazakh-language test, for the 4 December presidential election. The most prominent of these candidates include incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbaev; Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, the leader of the opposition \"For a Just Kazakhstan\" bloc; parliamentarians Ualikhan Kaisarov and Erasyl Abylkasymov; businessman Salim Oten; lawyer Mekemtas Tleulesov; and Alikhan Baimenov, the leader of the Ak Zhol party. The group also includes two female candidates, Maya Karamaeva, a 43-year-old woman who has nominated herself, and Baltabai Rakhimzhanov, the head of the National Federation of Farmers. The Central Election Commission has yet to rule on the status of another five candidates. (gazeta.kz)