Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, will be renamed back to Astana. The corresponding amendments to the Constitution of the country were adopted by the parliament, they will come into force after the signature of the president.
According to a Tengrinews correspondent, the country will also increase the presidential term from five to seven years, while the president will not be able to be re-elected for a second term. Minister of Justice Kanat Musin said at the meeting that the issue of renaming was included in the draft law, taking into account public opinion.
Yerlan Kanalimov, secretary of the capital's maslikhat (local representative body of government), said that the renaming would be an apology to local residents who opposed the change in the name of the capital in 2019. He answered questions during public hearings, he is quoted by a Kazinform correspondent.
Kanalimov clarified that the decision to change the name was made by deputies of the maslikhat of the last VI convocation.
“You are now proposing to apologize for the renaming of the city to those who did not agree with this decision then. Now we are ready to restore historical justice and return the city to its former name. If we make this decision today, I think it will amount to an apology. If separate apologies are needed, we are also ready to offer them.”
According to him, if the decision is nevertheless made, then there will be no need to apologize.
On September 15, deputies of the maslikhat voted for the renaming of the capital of Kazakhstan to Astana.
The capital of Kazakhstan was renamed Nur-Sultan in March 2019 at the initiative of the head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in honor of the first President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In January 2022, mass protests took place in Kazakhstan, initially demanding lower fuel prices. Then political slogans were added to them, including the demand that Nazarbayev leave power. In early September, the deputy group of parliamentarians Zhana Kazakhstan (New Kazakhstan) came up with an initiative to return the capital of the republic to its former name, referring to the requests of the population. On September 13, Tokayev supported the initiative.
In the summer of 2022, a referendum was held in Kazakhstan on amendments to the Constitution. Changes in the basic law were supported by more than 77% of citizens. All references to Nazarbayev as the leader of the nation (elbasy) were removed from the text of the country's basic law.