Kazakh President accepts government resignation

SANAA, Jan. 05 (YPA) – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree on the resignation of the government and appointed Alikhan Smailov, previously first deputy PM, as acting prime minister.

“The (president) accepted the resignation of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and temporarily assigned the functions of conducting the government to Alikhan Samaylov,” the decree reads.

Moreover, the decree ensures that the rest of the government remains in the running of the country’s affairs until a new government is nominated.

The move followed violent protests on Tuesday, which prompted Tokayev to declare a state of emergency in the Central Asian nation’s biggest city, Almaty, and the oil-producing western Mangistau province.

E.M