KZBlog

Interfax has an interview with Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, advisor to the President and former Minister of Information and Culture, where he discusses the “Leader of the Nation” law.

In the interview, Yertysbayev claimed that there was nothing unusual about the speed with which the law went through Parliament:

Decisions of that kind are usually made very quickly. The same happened in 1991 when presidential elections were announced quite unexpectedly and Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected president uncontested on December 1…The Kazakh elite was no less surprised in 1995 when the president’s term was extended and the Constitution adopted. There is no point in waiting till June 25 when we have a one-party parliament where all the seats are occupied by the members of the Nur Otan Party who adhere to a strict party discipline.

He also later points out that NurOtan, in contrast to the opposition, has “ideological monism and iron discipline”.

As to whether the President will veto the law, Yertysbayev would advise against doing so because it would show a lack of faith in the Parliament which respects the President. Vetoing this proposal would hurt his position as keeper of stability and steady development…”as long as his stays in office till 2020.” Is the reference to 2020 a figure of speech or is there some kind of plan for Nazarbayev to retire in 10 years time?

As for rumors as to whether the President will step down soon, Yertysbayev says:

Theoretically, it may happen this year, but I am strongly against it. The people of Kazakhstan gave their trust and support to Nazarbayev in December 2005. It’s his duty to remain in power until December 2012.

He goes on to say that the President is not at all a power hungry dictator, and he rarely asks people to obey him without questioning him: “He can be argued with, though with caution, and even convinced.” And he has no intention of trying to control his successor, since his successor will naturally seek the President’s advice anyway: “I totally disagree with the opinion that the second Kazakh President will be fully accountable to Nursultan Nazarbayev, a leader of the nation….You must understand that the next president will be asking Nazarbayev for advice on strategic issues in foreign and domestic policy, even if the law on the leader of the nation never comes into force.”