Kazakhstan’s strongman of 30 years Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly resigns, but will still wield considerable power
- Analysts expect Nazarbayev to remain the most powerful person in Kazakhstan even after he steps down
- His effort to do so will be watched closely in the region, not least by Russian President Vladimir Putin
By retaining key posts - as head of the security council and chair of the ruling party - the 78-year-old Central Asian strongman will be in a position to keep ruling the nation behind the scenes.
“Nazarbayev is not going anywhere, he will be in charge of the country for as long as his health allows,” said Central Asia analyst Andrei Grozin.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaker of the upper house of parliament, will take over as Kazakhstan’s acting president for the remainder of his term in line with the constitution.
Kazakhstan is expected to hold both presidential and parliamentary elections next year.
Sergey Duvanov, an independent analyst based in Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty, said Nazarbayev will continue to rule the country “just with a different title”.