Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission on Monday approved the registration of opposition leader Zharmakhan Tuyakbai as a candidate for the Dec. 4 presidential election.

Tuyakbai, leader of the main opposition movement "For a Just Kazakhstan," is eligible for the upcoming election, after he netted more than 160,000 signatures of voters backing his candidacy, the commission said.

Each candidate must collect at least 90,000 supporting signatures.

Tuyakbai, 57, is considered as the main challenger for incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled the Central Asian country for 16 years and announced re-election bid.

A total of 12 candidates will run for the presidential poll scheduled for Dec. 4, which is held every seven years, the Central Election Commission said. Candidates must register at least 40 days ahead of the election.

Tuyakbai, with a degree in law, became Kazakhstan's prosecutor-general before he was elected speaker of the lower house of the parliament in 1999.

He defected from the ruling Otan party and joined the opposition movement "For a Just Kazakhstan" after failing to win a re-election in the parliamentary elections last year, which he accused of being tainted by fraud.

Source: Xinhua