Kazakhstan's president elected head of ruling party

ANKARA

Kazakhstan’s president was elected as head of the country’s ruling Nur Otan party on Friday.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was elected unanimously during the party’s extraordinary 21st Congress, according to a presidency statement cited by news agency Kazinform.

The online meeting was attended by 389 members from all the regions of Kazakhstan, the report said.

Tokayev takes over as Nur Otan head from former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Nazarbayev, 81, chose Tokayev as his successor for the presidency when he resigned in 2019 after running the Central Asian country for nearly three decades.

Nazarbayev had kept his position as Nur Otan leader, but announced last November that he would hand over the role to Tokayev.