Amanat proposes its candidate to be new prime minister of Kazakhstan

President Tokayev is going to discuss the proposed candidacy with heads of political parties in the parliament / Photo: Askar Akhmetullin

The Amanat political party has nominated Olzhas Bektenov, the head of the presidential administration, to be the new prime minister in Kazakhstan.

As Akorda, the official residence of the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reported, Chair of Mazhilis Yerlan Koshanov has proposed the candidacy of Olzhas Bektenov for the post of prime minister during a meeting with the president.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to discuss the proposed candidacy with the leaders of political factions within Mazhilis, the lower house of the country’s parliament.

What do we know about the candidate? Olzhas Bektenov was born in 1980 in Almaty. He graduated from the Kazakh State Law Academy and over his career worked in different public agencies such as the Department of Justice of Almaty, the law division of the prime minister’s office; he also served as deputy head of the Committee of Registration Service and Legal Assistance under the Ministry of Justice.

From 2016 to 2017, he worked as the head of the Astana Department of Anti-Corruption Service.

From 2017 to 2018, he was deputy head of the governor of the Akmola region overseeing economic issues.

From 2018 to 2019, he was deputy head of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption.

Currently, he is the head of the presidential administration.

The context. On February 5, President Tokayev dismissed the country’s cabinet. The first Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar is the executive prime minister.

The president also instructed cabinet members to continue serving their duties until the new cabinet is formed.

There is no official explanation for dismissing the current cabinet.

Former Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov has already published a farewell letter on Facebook. He thanked Tokayev for his trust and support and said that the past two years were crucial for Kazakhstan’s society.

A new prime minister is expected to be appointed on February 7 during a broad cabinet meeting.

The last time Kazakhstan’s cabinet resigned was due to the parliamentary elections in March 2023.