Tokayev elected chairman of Kazakhstan’s main party after Nazarbayev’s proposal

Nursultan Nazarbayev introduced a proposal to elect the head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as chairman of the Nur Otan party, the ruling and largest party in Kazakhstan.

As a result, Tokayev was unanimously elected by the decision of the extraordinary XXI Party Congress.

Nazarbayev He has made a decision transfer the powers of the chairman of Nur Otan to Tokayev as early as November 2021. Nazarbayev noted that the party should be headed by the president of the country.

January 27 Senate of Kazakhstan proposed change the status of Nazarbayev so as not to coordinate with him the main directions of domestic and foreign policy. The initiative of the Senate of Kazakhstan involves adjusting the status of Elbasy, which Nazarbayev has.

Also, the Parliament of Kazakhstan voted to cancel Nazarbayev’s lifelong chairmanship of the Security Council and the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. The amendments will have to be approved by the President of the Republic, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

January 19 bill on changing the status of the first president of Kazakhstan approved lower house of parliament.

In early January, protests erupted in a number of Kazakh cities and continued for several days. During this time, more than a hundred protesters were killed, and the number of detainees approached the mark of six thousand people. The protests were triggered by a sharp rise in prices for liquefied gas, but subsequently, the people of Kazakhstan began to put forward political demands – in particular, the departure of Nursultan Nazarbayev from politics.

The whereabouts of Nursultan Nazarbayev himself was unknown for a long time. The Sota publication, citing political scientist Arkady Dubnov, wrote that Nazarbayev may be in China. Later Beijing refuted these messages.

On January 18, Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed the nation for the first time regarding the January events. He stated that he had transferred all powers to President Tokayev, while he himself was on a “well-deserved rest” in the capital of Kazakhstan.