MOSCOW — President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan could remain in office for the rest of his life as a result of a package of constitutional amendments approved Friday by Parliament.
The measures, which need Nazarbayev's signature to take effect, would remove any limit on the number of terms he can serve.
Under Kazakhstan's current constitution, Nazarbayev, who has exercised authoritarian rule over the oil-rich Central Asian country since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, would be required to step down in 2012.
Critics charged that the vote was tantamount to making Nazarbayev, 66, president for life, whereas supporters said it was recognition of the key role he has played in building the country of 15 million.
"It is a huge step back for the nation," Aidos Sarimov, a political analyst at the Altynbek Sarsenbayev Foundation, an opposition-linked think tank in Almaty, said by telephone.
Yermek Zhumabayev, chairman of a commission that drafted the package, said the elimination of term limits for Nazarbayev was approved in recognition of "the historic role the first president has played in the establishment of our state, as one of the founders of our new independent Kazakhstan."
Under terms of the package, Nazarbayev would be an exception, with future presidents limited to two five-year terms.
The action Friday involved changes to amendments submitted to Parliament by Nazarbayev on Wednesday, which had been promoted as measures to make the country's political system more democratic. Kazakhstan has never had an election that outside observers have judged to be free and fair.
The original set of amendments shifted some presidential powers to Parliament and reduced future presidential terms to five years from the current seven, but said nothing about changes to allow Nazarbayev to run for office indefinitely.
Under the changes approved Friday, the president would need to seek Parliament's endorsement for his choice of a prime minister. The package also increased the number of members in Parliament and provided for more seats in the lower house to be filled according to the proportion of votes won by parties. Opposition leaders say that would make it more difficult for independent lawmakers to win seats.
It was not clear that the package as a whole marked any real shift of power toward Parliament, as backers asserted.
