These decisions are part of a desire to break with the policy of former President Noursultan Nazarbayev, who had in particular established a cult of his personality in the country.
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Reforms continue. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law on Saturday September 17 which restores the capital of Kazakhstan to its former name of Astana, a sign of a break with the legacy of ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev, after whom the city had been renamed Nur- Sultan in 2019.
On its website, the presidency indicated that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had signed this law on constitutional amendments which also increases the mandate of the Kazakh head of state to seven years non-renewable, against five years renewable previously. The day before, the Kazakh Parliament had voted in favor of these changes.
On September 1, President Tokayev declared himself in favor of reducing the non-renewable mandate to seven years and also proposed to organize an early presidential election this autumn. This last proposal has not yet been officially confirmed. Known for its futuristic skyscrapers in the middle of the steppes of northern Kazakhstan, Astana was renamed Nur-Sultan in March 2019, after the first name of the former head of state, after his departure from power.
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Nursultan Nazarbayev, 82, who authoritatively ruled this former Soviet republic from independence in 1991 to 2019, had established a cult of his personality in Kazakhstan. Coming to power after the surprise resignation of his mentor, the new president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 69, has gradually distanced himself from the legacy of his predecessor, initiating reforms and pushing aside the influential clan of the ex-president .