Azernews.Az

ASTANA – Kazakhstan's government, led by Prime Minister Karim Masimov, resigned on Friday in line with the constitution, after President Nursultan Nazarbayev was sworn in to rule Central Asia's largest economy for five more years, Reuters reported.

Nazarbayev has run the vast oil-and-gas producing country since Soviet days, ensuring stability appreciated by both Russia and the West, but tolerating little dissent. He has overseen market reforms and more than $120 billion (73 billion pounds) in foreign investment -- mainly in oil and metals.

The 70-year-old former steelworker, re-elected by a landslide in a presidential election on Sunday, is expected to re-appoint or replace government ministers over the next few days. Until then, ministers will continue in an acting capacity.

The lower house of parliament, made up exclusively of members of Nazarbayev's ruling Nur Otan party, was expected to meet after 4 p.m. (1000 GMT) to vote on Nazarbayev's nominee for the post of prime minister.

Few doubt that the docile chamber will unanimously support any choice offered by Nazarbayev, who enjoys sweeping powers in his predominantly Muslim steppe nation of 16.4 million.

The veteran leader, inaugurated on Friday after winning his fourth presidential election since 1991, said under his reign Kazakhstan had become modern and powerful and would join the world's 50 most competitive economies by the end of this decade.

Kazakhstan boasts stability and the highest living standards in volatile ex-Soviet Central Asia, which borders Afghanistan and faces security threats including radical Islam, ethnic violence and drug trafficking.

But in more than 20 years of Nazarbayev's rule, it has never held an election judged free or fair by international monitors.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which Kazakhstan chaired in 2010, said Sunday's election had been marred by irregularities and urged the country to put in place democratic reforms before parliamentary elections in 2012.

"The past election was held in compliance with the highest organisational and democratic standards not only in the history of modern Kazakhstan but also, as experts say, of the whole of Central Asia," Nazarbayev said in his inauguration speech.

"The tempo of our reforms is much faster than in any other advanced state where democracy has been developing for centuries. We will continue working on further democratisation of our society."

Still holding an iron grip on his resource-rich nation, Nazarbayev promised to make steps to widen the powers of parliament and responsibilities of the government, improve the electoral process and delegate more power to the regions.

"We will develop a network of responsible and free mass media," he said. He did not elaborate.

Addressing concerns about the scale of corruption, Nazarbayev said: "We will toughen our methods to uproot corruption not only through criminal prosecution, but also by eliminating legal loopholes."