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Kazakhstan's ex-president stripped of political privileges

Philippines

Kazakhstan's ex-president stripped of political privileges

By Agence France-Presse

ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan on Friday revoked a law that granted great authority to veteran leader Nursultan Nazarbayev to further limit the influence of the former president and his family.

Nazarbayev ruled the energy-rich Central Asian country with an iron fist from 1991 to 2019 and retained political influence after stepping down while he and his family were granted immunity.

He was also granted the honorary title of "Elbasy" meaning "head of the nation".

A joint session of both chambers of Kazakhstan's parliament on Friday voted in favour of revoking this law, the Kazinform news agency reported.

"During a period of deep political transformations, when Kazakhstan is moving towards democracy and pluralism, it is important not to allow any mechanisms leading the appropriation of power by separate groups," lawmaker Erlan Sairov said in parliament as quoted by Kazinform.

The move comes just months after Kazakhstan's capital city -- renamed Nur-Sultan in the Nazarbayev's honour in 2019 -- regained its previous name Astana in September last year.

After his decision to step down, Nazarbayev enjoyed a huge influence over politics and his clan retained control over swathes of country's economy.

Last year, the country descended into chaos during January protests -- which grew out of peaceful demonstrations over a spike in fuel prices -- that left more than 230 dead.

Nazarbayev's hand-picked successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev violently suppressed the unrest and distanced himself from his former mentor, calling for a shift from "super-presidential" rule.

In recent months, several relatives of Kazakhstan's 82-year-old founding leader have been removed from positions of power.

Related Tags

Kazakhstan

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