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Kazakhstan’s New President Wants You to Know That He’s in Charge

Kazakhstan’s New President Wants You to Know That He’s in Charge

(Bloomberg) -- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wants everyone to know that he’s the man in charge in Kazakhstan after three decades under the rule of leader-for-life Nursultan Nazarbayev.

“I never forget that I am the president of this country,” Tokayev said in an interview Tuesday in the capital, Nur-Sultan. “And please, you also don’t forget about it.”

That he felt the need to say this to visitors to his palatial presidential office is a sign there are grounds for skepticism about the room for maneuver of a man whose first act as president was to rename the capital, then called Astana, in Nazarbayev’s honor. After naming Tokayev as his handpicked successor, Nazarbayev, 78, who ruled Kazakhstan since 1989, retained key powers for himself as head of the security council.

Tokayev also nominated Nazarbayev’s elder daughter, Dariga, to replace him as Kazakh senate head, putting her next in line formally to succeed as president. Early presidential elections held June 9 to confirm the choreographed transfer of power triggered an unusual outburst of protests.

Even so, Tokayev didn’t mention his predecessor in answers he gave during the hour-long interview, despite being asked about Nazarbayev’s policies. Instead, he set out plans for a “political transformation of society” to engage a younger generation that has no memory of the central Asian nation’s Soviet past. “Some of them are becoming quite active in the social network, I’m following their messages,” said Tokayev, 66, who started his career as an official in the Soviet foreign ministry.

He moved to boost his personal standing among ordinary Kazakhs with his first major policy announcement since his election, unveiling a program Wednesday to write off the debts of people “who find themselves in very difficult living circumstances.”

‘Ruling Party’

Still, there are limits to his ambitions. While he set out a “vision” to bolster the multiparty system and make parliament more influential, Tokayev said Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party, which holds more than 80% of seats in the legislature, “will remain as the ruling party.” He has no plans to call early parliamentary elections scheduled for 2021.

“In spite of Tokayev’s seemingly good intentions and sincere willingness to carry out some positive changes, the political system remains largely unchanged,” said George Voloshin, a Paris-based analyst at Aperio Intelligence Ltd. While Tokayev presents himself “as an independent leader who is in for the long term,” Nazarbayev “continues to exert significant influence,” he said.

Sandwiched between Russia and China, Kazakhstan has struggled to revive its economy since a currency crisis triggered by the slump in oil prices sent the tenge sliding as much as 50 percent in 2015. Before announcing he’d step down, Nazarbayev demanded billions of dollars in extra spending to stimulate growth and boost living standards.

Tokayev said he’s stepping up the fight against graft, adding that “I’m not going to diminish the scale of this problem in Kazakhstan,” which ranked 124th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index last year.

He’ll also press on with efforts to move the economy away from dependence on oil. “This kind of economy is getting to be outdated,” he said.

Crackdown Response

Small and medium-size enterprises should form 35% of the Kazakh economy by 2025 from about 20% now, Tokayev said. He’ll “gradually continue” a privatization program announced by Nazarbayev in 2017 to halve the state’s share of the economy to 18% within five years, he said.

After Tokayev called early elections in April “to remove any uncertainty” about the political transition, his victory with 71% support sparked protests from activists angered at a lack of real choice. About 4,000 people were at least temporarily detained by police and 700 were jailed, while international observers criticized the conduct of the vote.

The president defended the crackdown and contrasted it with last week’s violence in Georgia that left at least 240 injured. Kazakh police “didn’t use any force against protesters” and “almost all” detainees have now been freed, he said.

“I want to have a dialogue with my people” and to listen to reasonable proposals for change from civil society, Tokayev said. Still, “I don’t want to be too soft with regard to radical demands,” he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nariman Gizitdinov in Astana at ngizitdinov@bloomberg.net;Tony Halpin in Astana at thalpin5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net, Gregory L. White

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.