Kazakhstan voted in a referendum on Sunday on whether to build its first nuclear power plant, and an exit poll showed voters backed the idea promoted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's cabinet as a way to phase out polluting coal plants.

Authorities in Kazakhstan are widely expected to get their way in a referendum on nuclear power. But the question of which countries will be involved in building the future nuclear facility will have to wait until after the vote.

Kazakhstan votes in a referendum on Sunday on whether to build its first nuclear power plant, an idea promoted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's government as the Central Asian nation seeks to phase out polluting coal plants.

Kazakhstan has approved a plan to build its first nuclear power station in a referendum, overcoming lingering resentment over massive radiation exposure from Soviet-era nuclear tests.The issue of nuclear power is sensitive given that between 1949 and 1989,