ASTANA (TCA) — President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed a decree appointing Askar Mamin as the country’s new Prime Minister. This was announced on the presidential press service official Twitter account.
On February 25 the Head of State proposed the candidacy of Askar Mamin to the post of Prime Minister of Kazakhstan to the Mazhilis of the Parliament. The deputies of the Mazhilis approved the candidature of Askar Mamin for the post of the new Prime Minister, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reports.
The move comes four days after Nazarbayev sacked the previous Government for what he described as its failure to raise living standards and diversify the economy away from the energy sector, RFE/RL reported.
The 53-year-old Mamin, who had served as deputy prime minister since 2016, was then appointed as acting prime minister.
This comes amid growing protests across the country about living conditions for Kazakhs that were sparked by the deaths of five children from one family when their home in Astana burned down.
The tragedy occurred while both parents were working overnight shifts to make ends meet.
The previous Government was led by Bakytzhan Sagintaev, whose premiership started in 2016.
Nazarbayev has been in power in energy-rich Kazakhstan since before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Rights activists and critics say the 78-year-old leader has suppressed dissent, prolonged his time in office through undemocratic votes, and used the levers of power to neutralize potential political opponents.
