Kazakhstan limits presidential term

ASTANA, Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan’s president on Saturday signed a law limiting presidential terms and reverting to the old name of the Central Asian country’s capital, in the latest step of breaking with the legacy of his predecessor.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a bill limiting presidential mandates to a single seven-year term, a day after parliament approved the measure.

The bill also reinstated the capital’s name to Astana. The name was changed to Nur-sultan in March 2019, in honour of outgoing president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Tokayev took over from Nazarbayev in 2019 and has gradually distanced himself from the man who had ruled the energy-rich nation with an iron fist for three decades.