© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Kazakh Prime Minister Mamin attends a digital economy forum in Almaty
ALMATY (Reuters) – Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin could keep his post despite the imminent resignation of his cabinet after a parliamentary election, powerful ruling party leader Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Thursday. Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party swept the January 10 vote to maintain control of the lower house. Under the constitution, parliamentary elections automatically trigger the resignation of the government and the president must nominate a new prime minister and approve it by the lower house. Addressing his party on Thursday, Nazarbayev called for continuity in government policies. “If the president (Kassym-Jomart Tokayev) nominates Askar Mamin, he would ask the faction to support him,” his office quoted him as saying. The president was chosen by Nazarbayev. Kazakhstan’s newly elected lower house will open its first session on Friday. Nazarbayev served as president of the former Soviet republic for nearly three decades until he resigned in 2019. In addition to Nur Otan’s leadership, he remains the head of the national security council. His comments indicate that there is likely to be little change in the cabinet, including ministries that interact with foreign companies that have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in Kazakhstan’s energy and mining sectors.
