Alikhan Smailov named Kazakhstan’s prime minister

NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) -Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev nominated Alikhan Smailov for prime minister on Tuesday, and the lower house of parliament swiftly voted him in during a session broadcast live on state television.

Smailov, 49, served as first deputy prime minister in the previous cabinet which Tokayev dismissed last week amid violent unrest in the oil-rich Central Asian nation.

Kazakh security forces have detained 9,900 people over the unrest, Kazakhstan’s interior ministry said on Tuesday.