Daughter of former Kazakh leader leaves senate speaker post

Dariga Nazarbayeva, the eldest daughter of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has left her position as speaker of the upper house of parliament, the presidential office said on Saturday.

The office of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave no details in its brief statement.

Nazarbayeva had been appointed as a senate deputy by Tokayev who also nominated her for the speaker post.

Under the Kazakh constitution, the senate speaker is first in line to take the presidency in the event of the incumbent’s resignation or death.

Tokayev was speaker until March 2019 when Nazarbayev abruptly resigned after almost three decades in power.

The former president, Nazarbayev, retains sweeping powers in the oil-producing Central Asian nation as head of the security council and leader of the ruling Nur Otan party, holding an official title of Yelbasy, or national leader.