A few months after Kazakhstan’s long-serving dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev handed power to his protégé Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Nazarbayev’s daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva was removed from her position as head of the Senate.
As reported by Eurasianet “Kazakhstan’s president has in a shock decision stripped the daughter of his predecessor of her position as chair of the Senate, a move bound to spark fresh speculation about succession… Tokayev has pursued a far more hands-on form of rule and toyed with populist measures, such as when he announced last year that he would clear the personal debts of millions of his fellow citizens. Nazarbayev, who owes his position to a vertiginous rise through the ranks in Soviet times, is generally perceived as the more hawkish and illiberal of the pair.”
Kazakhstan under Nazarbayev used to be one of the most prosperous and stable regimes among Central Asia’s brutal autocrats.
The latest move might further destabilize the country suffering due to the collapsing oil market and a string of anti-government protests and online activities.
The dismissal might also be a political maneuver by the wealthy Nazarbayev family to turn Dariga Nazarbayeva into an “independent” politician in order to get her elected as the next president.
Courtesy: Eurasianet.org
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