Kazakh President to Receive Lifelong Title of “Leader of the Nation”
May 17, 2010
By: Benjamin Russell

A new piece of legislation will give Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev special status as the ‘leader of the nation,’ granting him “lifetime immunity from investigation or prosecution,” according to Radio Free Europe.

Nazarbaev, president since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, already enjoys a number of special privileges as Kazakhstan’s “first head of state.”  In 2001, a bill gave Nazarbaev the right to address the country on radio or television at any time and for any duration.  The bill also made Nazarbaev’s approval necessary for the passage of any future legislation, even after he leaves office.

The latest bill, which also protects Nazarbaev’s family’s assets, has come under fire from critics who wonder why it is necessary to shield the president from scrutiny.  "There is no need to defend an innocent person so persistently," said Vladimir Kozlov, an opposition politician. “Time after time these parliamentarians raise demands of immunity for him [Nazarbaev] and time after time they only prove the opposite [that Nazarbaev is guilty of something], isn't this true?"

Nazarbaev has been accused of corruption and embezzlement, and in 2003 admitted to siphoning state funds to a Swiss bank account; officials claimed the money was to be used as an “emergency fund should the country face a period of hardship.”  In 2006, the president’s former son-in-law claimed Nazarbaev was involved in the killing of a key opposition figure, an allegation he denies.  Now, as a result of the new legislation, none of the accusations against the president can be investigated.

Though Nazarbaev’s term expires in 2012, he is permitted to run for office as many times as he’d like.  Many observers see the bill as the first step in the president’s succession plan, claiming that the new legislation will allow him to maintain control over the country without being forced to operate under the constraints of the democratic process.    "Nazarbaev's new status has laid out his future - sooner or later he will step down as president and hand over to a figure from his circle," said Alexander Karavayev of the analytical department of Moscow's Lomonosov University.

Some observers see similarities between Nazarbaev’s “leader of the nation” status and  Lee Kuan Yew’s role as “minister mentor” in Singapore.  In fact, an official statement from Kazakhstan’s parliament offered Yew as an example when it noted that “Kazakhstan would not be the first country to give a special status to a political leader who has made a great contribution to the development of the state.”

Kazakhstan “promotes itself as a booming and foreign investment-friendly state but rights activists have repeatedly criticized the authorities, in particular for crackdowns on press and internet freedom,” according to the Telegraph.  Freedom House lists the country as “not free,” citing Nazarbaev’s Otan Nur Party’s “almost complete control over the political sphere in 2009 using…arbitrary arrests, restrictive new laws, and politically motivated prosecutions to muzzle critical news outlets and individuals.”

Sources:

The Telegraph – Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh ‘Leader of the Nation,’ Hatches Succession Scheme

BBC News – Kazakhstan Bill Boosts Power of President Nazarbayev

Kazakh President Handed ‘Leader of the Nation’ Status

Freedom House – Country Report 2010: Kazakhstan

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