ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Friday said he was ready to work for as long as required, as his country is expected to hold a referendum on whether to extend his term until 2020. Nazarbayev’s comments delivered during an annual state-of-the-nation address appeared to leave little doubt that he intended to extend his grip over the Central Asia’s largest oil producer despite strong criticism from the West.
“I am ready to work for as long as my health allows me. People’s trust means a lot to me,” he said during an annual address to the nation “I understood the signal of the people – do not leave your post, continue work. We should do our best to serve our people,” he told parliament to applause from the audience.
“All of this we have created together, from scratch, with me at the helm,” Nazarbayev said. Nazarbayev addressed the nation after Kazakhstan’s parliament earlier this month voted to hold a referendum on prolonging his rule to 2020. Nazarbayev had then been expected to sign the bill.
But he sent it instead for review to the Constitutional Council, a step seen as a token gesture and drawing an official distance between him and the efforts to extend his rule. “Whatever decision the Constitutional Council takes I promise that I will work if my health allows me,” he said in the address.
Kazakh leader says ready to stay in power
