ALMATY, January 28 (Reuters) – Kazakhstan’s ruling party, Nur Otan, elected President Kassim-Jomart Tokayev as its leader on Friday, thus completing his stranglehold at the expense of his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned in 2019, had retained sweeping powers until recently as president of the Security Council and leader of Nur Otan, a majority in parliament.
Kassim-Jomart Tokayev took over as head of the Security Council in early January, at the height of violent protests challenging the influence of Nursultan Nazarbayev and his entourage.
While there are many rumors of a disagreement between the two politicians – a number of Nursultan Nazarbayev’s relatives quit or were fired after the unrest – President Kassim-Jomart Tokayev adopted a conciliatory tone in his speech on Friday at the party congress.
“Let us give due credit to the historic achievements of the first president, focus on his undeniable successes and virtues, and consider any mistakes as lessons for the future leaders of our country,” he said.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled the oil-rich country for three decades, spoke briefly at the congress held by videoconference, reiterating his proposal to elect Kassim-Jomart Tokayev as president.
At the same congress, the party expelled Nursultan Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter, Dariga, who is an MP, from its political council, along with a number of other members.
Kassim-Jomart Tokayev said he intended to reform the party, but could step down as president as soon as the end of the year, after implementing a series of political reforms that would force the president to maintain an “equidistant status” between all the political parties. (Reportage Olzhas Auyezov, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Sophie Louet)