Nazarbayev - 'all of us' must prepare successors

    Kazakhstan's long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said "all of us" must prepare successors.
    Speaking at a cabinet session in Astana on November 18, Nazarbayev said many officials "had been in their posts for 25 years, while there are many young experts and specialists who are obstructed."
    "Nobody wants to leave his post. But enough is enough. It is time to go. And that is about all of us," Nazarbayev said.
    It was not clear whether Nazarbayev was talking about himself as well.
    Nazarbayev, 75, has run oil-rich Kazakhstan with an iron fist since 1989. He was reelected in April with 97.7 percent of the vote.
    None of the elections held in Kazakhstan after the country became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 has been recognized as free and democratic, according to RFE/RL.