Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev plans to call an early election in coming months and seek a second term, he told the former Soviet republic's parliament in an annual address, Reuters reports.
Tokayev also proposed holding snap parliamentary elections early next year in the oil-rich Central Asian nation.
The move follows the sidelining of Tokayev's predecessor and former patron Nursultan Nazarbayev amid violent unrest this year and a subsequent constitutional referendum held by Tokayev.
Tokayev was elected for a five-year term in 2019 when former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev abruptly resigned after almost three decades in power.
Tokayev has also proposed increasing the presidential term to seven years from five while prohibiting future presidents from seeking more than one term.