Kazakhstan ruling party distances itself from ex-leader

ALMATY, Kazakhstan: Delegates of Kazakhstan’s ruling party has voted to rename itself, media reported on Tuesday, distancing itself from the Central Asian country’s founding president, who exited the political scene following a bloody crisis in January.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, 81, dominated politics in the oil-producing state of 19 million people from before its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and even after stepping down from the presidency in 2019.

But his hand-picked successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has emerged as the country’s unquestioned leader after more than 200 people died in chaos that escalated from anti-government protests and moved Tokayev to call in Russia-led troops.

Delegates at an extraordinary congress of the party on Tuesday voted to change its name from Nur Otan -- which shares the prefix of the former president’s first name -- to Amanat, meaning "trust", pro-government Kazakh website Tengrinews reported. Speaking at the congress, Tokayev backed the move, saying the new name was "a deep concept that has a special symbolism in the culture of our people."