WASHINGTON - Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly announced his resignation today, three decades after taking office, in what appeared to be the first step in a choreographed political transition that will see him retain considerable sway in the country.
In a televised address on Tuesday, the 78-year-old said he has made the "difficult" decision to terminate his authority as president, indicating that the speaker of the upper parliament chamber, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, will succeed him until elections scheduled for 2020.
Radio Azattyq, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service (operating in Kazakh and Russian) has provided its audience in Kazakhstan comprehensive coverage of his resignation and reactions on the ground with the round-the-clock reporting by correspondents spanning throughout the country.
Radio Azattyq journalists are available for comment.
- Torokul Doorov, Director of Radio Azattyq, in Prague (English, Russian)
DoorovT@rferl.org -- ph: +420.221.122.406, Twitter: @Torokul
- Bruce Pannier, RFE/RL Senior Central Asia Correspondent, in Prague(English)
PannierB@rferl.org -- desk: +420.221.123.606, Twitter: @BrucePannier
READ: Nazarbaev's Decision To Leave Office Just Might Be His Greatest Legacy
- Makpal Kozhakanova, Editor, Radio Azattyq in Kazakhstan (English, Russian, Kazakh)
KozhakanovaM@rferl.org -- desk: +7.75.238.5608, Twitter: @Radio_Azattyk
To schedule an interview with any of RFE/RL's experts, contact Muhammad Tahir in Washington (tahirm@rferl.org; +1.202.457.6920), or Joanna Levison in Prague (levisonj@rferl.org; +420.221.122.080).
Follow the latest developments on RFERL.org.