The president of Kazakhstan ratifies the law that strips former president Nazarbayev and his family of privileges

15 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of Kazakhstan, Kasim Yomart Tokayev, has ratified this Wednesday the law that strips former president Nursultán Nazarbayev and his family of immunity and privileges for having led the country.

Thus, the previous legislation, which dated back to the year 2000 and guaranteed these privileges, has been withdrawn, as the country’s Presidency has indicated in a statement.

The measure has had the approval of the Kazakh Parliament, which has been in favor of this regulation after Tokayev took over from Nazarbayev in 2022 as head of the National Security Council, the Assembly of Peoples and the Nur Otan party -later renamed Amanat–.

The deputies then asserted that “attempts to gather all power in just a few hands and to monopolize public institutions (…) can lead to a devaluation of politics and negatively affect the development of the State.” “It is extremely important to end this type of immunity,” they have stated.

The former president, who was in charge of the country between 1990 and 2019, has thus been losing privileges and could face investigations or criminal proceedings for violations committed under his mandate.