Ammon News - Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Monday appointed ​Erlan Karin, a longtime adviser, as vice president, an ‌office created under a new constitution that Central Asia's largest economy adopted earlier this year.

The move makes Karin, a close adviser to Tokayev since he took ​over the presidency in 2019, first in line to succeed ​his boss as the leader of Kazakhstan, an energy ⁠and minerals giant that maintains warm ties with Russia, the West ​and China.

Tokayev, 73, is eligible to run for another seven-year term ​as president under the new constitution, Kazakhstan's supreme court has said. His current term ends in 2029.
Kazakh presidents are otherwise limited to a single term in office ​under the basic law.

Karin, 50, has a background in counter-terrorism ​and has served as a top adviser to Tokayev since 2019. He has positioned ‌himself ⁠as a key figure in promoting Tokayev's ideology, which he has dubbed "New Kazakhstan".

Tokayev also proposed to reappoint Olzhas Bektenov as the country's prime minister, a position he has held since 2024.

Both appointments were swiftly ​approved by the ​country's parliament, ⁠which is dominated by the pro-Tokayev Adilet party.

Tokayev, a former Soviet diplomat and top United Nations official, ​took office as the chosen successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev, ​Kazakhstan's ⁠founding president, who ruled from 1991 to 2019.

Tokayev broke from his predecessor, whom he had served as prime minister and foreign minister, in 2022 ⁠after ​a bout of nationwide unrest that left ​hundreds dead and which he cast as a coup attempt by Nazarbayev-era figures.


Reuters