President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since 1989, has declined a motion to expand his powers and bestow on him the title "Leader of the Nation," Interfax Kazakhstan reports.
In early May, Kazakhstan's rubber-stamp parliament approved draft legislation that would have expanded Nazarbayev's already impressive powers to include de facto veto rights over state policy if he ever leaves office. It would have also fortified his immunity from prosecution and protected the property of his family members.
Thanking his people for their "confidence" in his rule, on June 3 Nazarbayev said, "I believe that the status of the leader of the nation does not need to be bound by any legislation."
Was this just a dance? The proposal, and Nazarbayev's rejection, conveniently burnish his democratic credentials. Astana is the current chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an honorific that appalls many human rights and democracy advocates.
David Trilling is Eurasianet’s managing editor.
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