Kazakhstan: President keeps power for life

On 31 May 2018 the upper house of the Kazakh parliament approved a bill allowing President Nursultan Nazarbaev to lead the Central Asian country's Security Council for life. The lower house of parliament had already approved the draft legislation. In the new bill the status of the Security Council was changed from consultative to constitutional, increasing its political influence. The bill will soon be signed into law by, of course, Nazarbaev himself. Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, agrees with those who see this move as a sign that Nazarbaev (now 77 years old) is seeking to ensure that he will maintain his grip on power if he steps down as president: "The authoritarian ruler of Kazakhstan is clearly not planning to leave his position of power. The new situation will make no difference for Christians in Kazakhstan who will continue to live their faith under difficult circumstances, as highlighted in the most recent US State Department International Religious Freedom Report for 2017. The report states: "˜According to local and international observers, authorities imposed restrictions and heightened scrutiny on so-called non-traditional religious groups, including Muslims who practice a version of Islam other than the officially recognized Hanafi school of Sunni Islam and Protestant Christians. Authorities continued to arrest, detain, and imprison members of religious groups, criminalize speech inciting religious discord, raid believers' homes to stop the practice of religious activities by those lacking formal registration with the government, question congregation members about their choice of faith, prosecute individuals for illegal missionary activity, and label non-traditional religious groups as destructive sects in the media.""