Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev accepted the government's resignation on Wednesday, his office said, after violent protests triggered by a fuel price increase rocked the oil-rich Central Asian country.
Police used tear gas and stun grenades late on Tuesday to drive hundreds of protesters out of the main square in Almaty, the former Soviet republic's biggest city, and clashes went on for hours in nearby areas.
Tokayev declared a state of emergency in Almaty and the oil-producing western Mangistau province early on Wednesday and has said that domestic and foreign provocateurs were behind the violence.
The protests began in Mangistau province on Sunday following the lifting of price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, a popular car fuel, a day earlier, after which its price more than doubled.
Speaking to acting cabinet members on Wednesday, Tokayev ordered them and provincial governors to reinstate LPG price controls and broaden them to gasoline, diesel and other "socially important" consumer goods.
He also ordered the government to develop a personal bankruptcy law and consider freezing utilities' prices and subsidising rent payments for poor families.
The President’s decree marks the resignation effective immediately but instructs members of the government to continue to fulfill their duties until the approval of a new cabinet. First Deputy Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov was appointed to serve as acting prime minister in the interim.
The decree further noted that Krymbek Kusherbayev was removed from his station as the state secretary, with Yerlan Karin being bumped up to the seat by a separate announcement. Additionally Murat Nurtleu was tapped to serve as the first deputy head of the National Security Committee.
Since February 25, 2019, the government of Kazakhstan was led by Askar Mamin.
Reported by Reuters, Sputnik News Russia.
