Nursultan Nazarbayev loses one more privilege

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan, has lost the title of «Honorary Senator,» according to Maulen Ashimbayev, the speaker of the Senate.

«Until recently only one person possessed the title of Honorary Senator in our country. Now nobody can acquire this title because it is no longer in our legislation. Let me clarify, we have changed the Senate’s regulations. We reviewed this rule and deleted it. In fact, we have never had a legal base for this practice,» Ashimbayev said after the plenary session of the chamber.

The official also highlighted that the people of Kazakhstan decided to renounce the title Elbasy (Leader of the Nation) during the referendum last summer.

Kazakhstan’s parliament is going to renounce the national law on the first president. Its two chambers, Mazhilis and Senate, will hold a joint meeting tomorrow January 13. It is expected that Nazarbayev will keep the status of ex-president and will receive only those privileges that are offered to any former leader of the country. Once the law on Elbasy is denounced, members of the Nazarbayev family will lose all their privileges and legal immunity as well.

Nazarbayev obtained the title of Honorary Senator in May 2019, right after he left the position of president.