Nazarbayev's political party Nur Otan is for early presidential elections in Kazakhstan

Today the Nur Otan political party of current president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has backed the initiative voiced by the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan on 14 February to hold early presidential elections in the country that were due to be held in 2016 when the ruling term of Nazarbayev would end.

"It is crucial to strengthen the economy and ensure the continuity of the current policy by holding an early election," the Assembly said in a statement following the meeting of the council. azh.kz refers to akipress.org.

The previous presidential elections took place in April 2011, resulting in the victory of President Nazarbayev with 95.55 percent of the vote. According to constitution, his five-year term ends only in late 2016.

The Assembly said Kazakhstan could not hold both a parliamentary and a presidential election in 2016 at a time of a new crisis. "The president of the country must be handed a new mandate of nationwide confidence to make sure the country successfully passes this period of global challenges," the Assembly said.

Under the constitution, the assembly has nine deputies in the 107-member lower chamber of parliament, which is dominated by Nazarbayev's Nur Otan ruling party. It said its faction would make an official motion to hold an early election.

Nazarbayev, the first and the only president of the Central Asian country since 1991, is not restricted by law in the number of participation in the presidential elections.