New Kazakh President Tokayev sworn in, Nazarbayev’s daughter elected speaker of upper house

Dariga Nazarbayeva, the eldest daughter of former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, was elected speaker of the upper house of parliament on Wednesday. This is the number-two position in the Central Asian nation’s political hierarchy. The previous speaker of the Senate, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was sworn in as president earlier in the day in line with the constitution after Nazarbayev abruptly resigned on Tuesday. Tokayev has suggested renaming the capital of Astana as Nursultan after the country’s first president, Nazarbayev. The former president said he would remain as chairman of the Security Council and the Nur Otan Democratic People’s Party, as well as a member of the Constitutional Council.