President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his resignation today.
"I made the decision to terminate my powers as president," the politician said in a televised address to the people of Kazakhstan.
"This year marks 30 years since I assumed the post of the country’s supreme leader. I was given the honor by my great nation to become the first president of independent Kazakhstan," he stressed.
Nazarbayev said he would retain the post of the head of the country's Security Council and leader of the Nur Otan party, and remain a member of the Constitutional Council.
Under the constitution, "in case of an early resignation of the incumbent president his powers will be transferred to the chairman of the Senate until his term ends," Nazarbayev said, noting that then the country would hold the election.
Speaker of the country's senate Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will execute the office of the president until a new president is elected.
In accordance with the decree published on the president’s website, Tokayev will take the oath of office at a joint meeting of both houses of parliament on March 20 at 12:00 local time.
Nazarbayev has been serving as President of Kazakhstan since 1990.
