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Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has called for a June 19 joint session of the Kazakh parliament's houses under the guise of discussing the country's new constitution. However, Nazarbayev could well use that time to call early elections in which he could close ranks and force out the little opposition left in parliament. This comes at a time when Nazarbayev's controversial former son-in-law, Rakhat Aliyev, is being formally booted from the family and is on his way to jail, taking with him any hope of forming a new opposition.
During his 16 years as president, Nazarbayev has been transforming his family into a dynasty ruling the energy-wealthy country while gradually pushing out any opposition. The family empire looked as if it could fracture when Aliyev, who is married to the president's eldest daughter Darigha, made a bid for the top place. Nazarbayev not only had Aliyev arrested in Austria on unrelated charges, he also began changing the laws in Kazakhstan to allow himself to remain president for life. The question then became whether Aliyev, along with his powerful wife and their large political faction, would continue challenging Nazarbayev and his control over the country.
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