Kazakhstan: FM to Get Warm Washington Welcome Despite Democracy Concerns?

The president sent the bill to the Constitutional Council on January 17; the body has a month to rule on the legality of the initiative. Nazarbayev has let it be known officially that he’d prefer to stand in the scheduled 2012 election, but last week he dropped a most unsubtle hint that he’ll eventually allow a referendum to go ahead. “Naturally, not a single state politician can ignore the will of the people,” he told a meeting with officials, deputies and members of political parties.