IWPR is reporting that Darigha Nazarbaeva, recently divorced from Rakhat Aliev, will be standing down from Parliament. Her father's party, Nur-Otan, sees her as a liability in upcoming August 18 elections.
Ms. Nazarbaeva's Asar Party merged into Nur-Otan in 2006.
The elections follow a number of Constitutional amendments, previously most famous for introducing a loosening term limits for one president and forefather only–Nursultan Nazarbaev. These reforms also increased the number of representatives of the lower Majilis, or Parliament. New elections will fill the positions immediately–and also allow the Nur-Otan party to be the best prepared to fill them.
Many are predicting, including most of the analysts in this article, that Ms. Nazarbaeva will not regain her former stature in Kazakhstan's politics. I think it's a little early to count Ms. Nazarbaeva out. Nevertheless, a period of retrenchment is surely understandable in terms of elections. There are some rumors that Ms. Nazarbaeva will also lose more of her media empire to further curtail her power. That indeed, would probably seal the lack of power for her, and leave Mr. Timur Kulibaev (Daniya Nazarbaeva's husband and head of most of the petroleum resources of Kazakhstan) as the most likely of Mr. Nazarbaev's successors–if and when Mr. Nazarbaev decides to no longer run.