The President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev supported renaming of the capital from Nur-Sultan back into Astana. Spokesman for the president Ruslan Zheldibai announced.
According to him, a group of parliament deputies proposed to return the capital of Kazakhstan its former name, the head of state was informed about this initiative.
The deputies, in turn, relied on the proposals that were repeatedly expressed during meetings with the population, as well as on the numerous appeals of citizens during the referendum. The proposal of the deputies was included in the draft constitutional law with the consent of the President.
Ruslan Zheldibai added that «the head of the Republic of Kazakhstan considers the decisive role of Nursultan Nazarbayev in strengthening the modern statehood of Kazakhstan and formation of the capital as a historical fact.» Therefore, as the spokesman said, other objects named after the first president should retain their names.
On September 2, members of Zhana Kazakhstan deputy group of the Majilis spoke in favor of returning the name Astana to Nur-Sultan.
«We consider it wrong when during the life of a person a city is named after him, besides, the people also did not accept the new name of the capital. Therefore, it will be historically fair to return the former name of the capital Astana, which was once proposed by the first head of state,» the statement says.
