Kazakh President Dismisses Nazarbaev’s Daughter As Speaker Of Parliament

Dariga Nazarbaeva, the daughter of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, has been dismissed from her post as speaker of the upper house of parliament.

The move, which removes Nazarbaeva from a position that put her second in line to the head of state, was announced on May 2 by the office of President Qasym-Zormart Toqaev, her father’s hand-picked successor.

Toqaev “terminated the powers” of Nazarbaeva, his office said in a statement.

She also loses her seat in parliament.

Toqaev thanked Nazarbaeva for her “active and fruitful work as chair of the Senate” on Twitter on May 2.

Nazarbaeva had served as speaker of parliament since March 20, 2019, the same day her father stepped down as president.

Nazarbaev, 79, is widely seen as the country’s top decision-maker despite leaving the presidency he held for nearly three decades.

He continues to lead the ruling Nur-Otan party and holds a lifetime post as chairman of the Security Council.

Immediately following Nazarbaev’s resignation, Toqaev proposed renaming the country’s capital to Nur-Sultan in his predecessor’s honor.

Nazarbaeva was nominated to be parliament speaker by Toqaev, who himself served in the position under Nazarbaev.

Nazarbaeva’s arrival to parliament in 2016 on her father’s appointment was widely seen as a move to groom a possible successor.