Kazakhs set to elect new leader with little hope for opposition Kazakhs head to the polls to elect their first new leader in 30 years. Diplomat and interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 66, is running for the country's ruling party with enthusiastic backing from ex-president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down from the presidency in March 2019. IMAGES of Almaty residents and SOUNDBITES of a political analyst and Almaty residents