For Decent Housing leader Zauresh Battalova said her group will remain in President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party headquarters in Astana until top government officials agree to direct talks.

“We’re going to sit in Nur Otan’s conference hall until such time as our issues have been resolved. Otherwise, we will remain here until April 3,” Battalova said in an e-mailed statement.

Several hundred homeowners had earlier rallied near Kazakhstan’s presidential palace. Organizers and witnesses said a few dozen had been detained by police.

Oil-rich Kazakhstan’s fledgling bank sector was badly hit by the global financial crisis, leaving thousands of Kazakhs heavily in debt and in danger of losing their homes.

The country is currently preparing for an April 3 vote in which 70-year-old incumbent Nazarbayev is expected to claim easy victory. Major opposition politicians have declined to take part in an election they have described as a sham, and anti-government activists are conducting a boycott campaign.

Homeowners’ rights movement leader Yesenbek Ukteshbayev said the aim of Tuesday’s protest was to deliver a petition with the demonstrators’ grievances directly to Nazarbayev.

“Authorities must not only serve the interests of the bank, they should also help individuals,” Ukteshbayev told The Associated Press by telephone.

According to witnesses, a column of police blocked the way to the presidential palace and some protesters unfurled banners, including one reading “We need a president that thinks about the people.” Ukteshbayev said the presidential administration had been given a week’s notice about the rally and it should have made officials available to speak to protesters.

Respublika newspaper reporter Zhanna Baytelova said she was one of three journalists detained by police. “They treated us extremely roughly and threw us into their bus,” she said.

Other demonstrators had traveled from around the country to attend the meeting, but many were stopped by police on the way, organizers said.