OCT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — At the annual conference of the ruling Nur Otan political party, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he supported the introduction of a wealth tax and wanted more people to learn English. The Nur Otan conference and Mr Nazarbayev’s pronouncements are a decent weather mast for future policy in Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a seasoned politician and diplomat, to be the Speaker of the Senate. Speaker of the Senate is one of the highest ranking positions in the Kazakh government and Mr Tokayev’s appointment triggered succession chatter.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Just who is going to succeed the long-standing Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is the biggest political issue in Kazakhstan.
Mr Nazarbayev, 73, has led Kazakhstan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. He has shaped Kazakhstan. The physical apex of Mr Nazarbayev’s power is his presidential palace, the Akorda, in the centre of Astana.
One of Mr Nazarbayev’s headaches, though, is the succession issue. He doesn’t have an obvious successor capable of holding together Kazakhstan’s notoriously fractious clans.
This means that when Mr Nazarbayev shuffles his lieutenants, it attracts close attention. So, when he pulled the career diplomat Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 60, from United Nations in Geneva and appointed him to head the Senate, Kazakhstan-watchers started talking about succession.
It’s a familiar position for Mr Tokayev who had been Speaker of the Senate between 2007 and 2011. He has also previously served as PM and foreign minister.
And Mr Tokayev’s promotion to head the Senate is important. According to the constitution, if Mr Nazarbayev couldn’t run the country, for whatever reason, the Speaker of the Senate would take over.
Whether or not that means he will take over the presidency when Mr Nazarbayev finally retires is another question. There’s no doubt, though, that there is still a lot of conjecture and so-called Akorda-ology to come.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ilham Aliyev replaced his long serving defence minister, General Safar Abiyev, in a cabinet re-shuffle at the start of his third term as Azerbaijan’s president.
It’s a brave move by Mr Aliyev.
Gen Abiyev, 64, is one of most powerful figures in Azerbaijan and had been considered a vital component in building the Aliyev political dynasty. Gen Abiyev has been Azerbaijan’s defence minister since February 1995 and had served under Mr Aliyev’s father, Heydar Aliyev, who was president between 1993 and 2003.
He has built up a large power-base during his 18 years as a minister and overseen a military budget that has soared alongside the country’s economy.
But opposition figures have accused Gen Abiyev of massive corruption and blamed him for the deaths of recruits and the general poor morale among the military. They’ll celebrate the apparent downfall of Gen Abiyev.
Mr Aliyev appointed Zakir Hasanov as defence minister, previously in charge of the interior ministry forces. It’s still unclear what Gen Abiyev’s new role is.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan may consider privatising its postal service, Azerpost, information minister, Ali Abasov, told journalists. Mr Abasov said that Azerpost’s performance had been poorer than expected. There are roughly 1,500 post offices in Azerbaijan providing a variety of services.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ilham Aliyev was sworn in as Azerbaijan’s president for his third five-year term despite protests from opposition groups that the Oct. 9 election was flawed. The ceremony took place in the Azerbaijani parliament after the constitutional court confirmed Mr Aliyev’s election victory with 85% of the vote.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Gulnara Karimova, eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, responded to criticism from her sister by accusing her of embezzling cash and having links with sorcerers, media reported. Lola Karimova-Tillayeva had told the BBC in an interview last month that Gulnara had little chance of ever becoming Uzbek president.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 21 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — On the eve of a presidential election, Georgia’s PM Bidzina Ivanishvili has called outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili a “political corpse” and said that he could be prosecuted for alleged abuses during his 10 years in office, media reported. Georgia holds a presidential election on Oct. 27.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 17 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek media have reported that police have arrested Akbarali Abdullayev, a nephew of Uzbek president Islam Karimov. Analysts had talked of Mr Abdullayev as a potential successor to Mr Karimov and his arrest may indicate that a power struggle is ongoing. Reports did not specify why police arrested Mr Abdullayev.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
OCT. 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Three days after being sworn in for his third term as Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev. replaced his long-serving defence minister General Safar Abiyev. Gen Abiyev had been defence minister since 1995. Opposition figures have accused him of corruption.
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(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)
