(RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan's president has advanced the candidacy of Deputy Prime Minister Karim Masimov to replace the resigned premier, a parliamentary official said Tuesday.
Danial Akhmetov and his government tendered their resignation Monday after three and a half years in office. Both houses of parliament will meet January 10 to discuss the new premier's candidacy.
Under Kazakhstan's legislation, a premier's departure requires the resignation of the entire government, reports Trend.
"The president put forward the candidacy, the faction approved it, and tomorrow the president will officially announce the name of the candidate," the source said on condition of anonymity.
"The candidate is Karim Masimov," he said.
Masimov, 41, is widely perceived as an influential figure close to President Nursultan Nazarbayev. He became a deputy premiere in January 2006. In the early 2000s, he served as the economics minister and the transportation and communications minister.
Amzebek Zholshybekov, the faction leader of Kazakhstan's leading pro-presidential Nur Otan party, said his faction discussed a new Cabinet and a new premiere, but refused to specify any names until President Nursultan Nazarbayev announces his candidate.
Nur Otan garnered over 60% of the vote in the 2004 elections, and now has 46 out 77 seats in the parliament following a merger with the Asar party, led by the president's daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva, on 25 September 2006.