Law professor calls on officials to get rid of Elbasy portraits in Kazakhstan

Portraits of Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev must be removed from public offices all over the country, according to Marat Bashimov, a law professor and head of the Expert Institute of European Law.

While speaking at a briefing devoted to the New Kazakhstan concept, he suggested the Office of the Prosecutor General promote new provisions of the Constitution and monitor public events.

«The Constitution is the highest mandatory legal document in the country. The term Elbasy (Leader of Nation) is no longer in the Constitution. The Office of the Prosecutor General must explain new provisions of the Constitution. There is no longer the term of Elbasy in the main law. It’s nothing more than a leaderism. It’s like Führer in German. We need the Office of the Prosecutor General to take a more proactive position. They have to change the reality as the new law requires. They must keep an eye on the situation,» he said.

The law professor also added that the current president is focused on the transit to New Kazakhstan and always relies on the provisions and principles of the Constitution.

On June 5, 2022, citizens of the country voted for the amendment to the national Constitution and there is no need to wait for another law as the amendments have already entered into force, says Bashimov.

Now, the country’s main law doesn’t mention the name of Ex-President Nazarbayev.

Nursultan Nazarbayev is the first president of Kazakhstan. He was the country’s leader over the period from December 16, 1991 to March 20, 2019. He had held various positions, including the position of chairman of the Nur-Otan political party (now Amanat), head of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan and head of the Security Council. In January he gave over these positions to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In 2010, Nazarbayev was given the title of Elbasy – the Leader of Nation.