"Kazakhstan Former President Voluntarily Transfers Security Council Chairmanship"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former president known as the de facto ruler of Kazakhstan amid large-scale protests, has handed over his position as chairman of the National Security Council to the current president, the former president's spokesperson announced on the 9th (local time).

According to Russia's Sputnik News Agency, spokesperson Aidos Ukibay explained, "Due to the very serious current situation, former President Nazarbayev personally decided to transfer the chairmanship of the National Security Council to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the current president of Kazakhstan."

President Tokayev had earlier, on the 5th, accepted the cabinet's resignation and announced that he would dismiss former President Nazarbayev from the chairmanship of the National Security Council (NSC) and take over the position himself.

Ukibay also denied rumors that former President Nazarbayev had fled abroad, stating that he is currently in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan.

The 82-year-old former President Nazarbayev rose to the position of First Secretary (Secretary General), the highest leader of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, in 1989 during the Soviet era, and served as president for nearly 30 years from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 until his voluntary resignation in 2019. Even after stepping down from the presidency, he maintained the chairmanship of the National Security Council and enjoyed the status of 'Gukbu' (National Father), effectively exercising 'retired king politics.'

Earlier, on the 2nd, residents of the western region dissatisfied with the sharp rise in fuel prices poured into the streets to protest, and the demonstration soon escalated into a large-scale nationwide anti-government protest.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.