Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov has resigned, forcing the entire government to step down, a government source told Reuters on Monday.
”The prime minister has resigned,” the source said, giving no reason for Akhmetov’s resignation.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev has accepted the resignation, the source said. Under the Constitution, the prime minister’s resignation triggers the removal of the Cabinet.
Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, is rich in oil and gas which it pumps mainly to the West.
Akhmetov (52) has been Kazakh prime minister since June 2003. Nazarbayev, the country’s leader since Soviet times, reappointed him to the post last January.
The Parliament, which according to the Constitution approves the president’s nominee for prime minister, is due hold a plenary sitting on January 10. — Reuters