Kazakhstan’s Senate Speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will become acting president after Nursultan Nazarbayev’s resignation, the nation’s long-time leader announced in his televised address on Tuesday.

Axar.az reports citing TASS.

Under the constitution, "in case of an early resignation of the incumbent president his powers will be transferred to the chairman of the Senate until his term ends," Nazarbayev said, noting that then the country would hold the election.

In accordance with the decree published on the president’s website, Tokayev will take the oath of office at a joint meeting of both houses of parliament on March 20 at 12:00 local time.