Kazakh leader hands over ruling party leadership to ally

FILE PHOTO: Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech during a festival marking Nauryz, an ancient holiday celebrating the spring equinox, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, March 21, 2022. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev/File Photo

NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev quit the ruling Amanat party on Tuesday and handed over the chairmanship to an ally, part of his plan to make the oil-rich Central Asian nation's political landscape more competitive.

Amanat, previously known as Nur Otan, dominates the former Soviet republic's parliament and local councils, but Tokayev has said he wants more political groups to emerge and has moved to ease registration requirements for new parties.