The parliament of Bashkortostan will on Monday consider the nomination of Rustem Khamitov to be the new president of the Russian Volga republic, a representative of the state assembly said on Sunday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accepted the resignation of Murtaza Rakhmiov on Thursday and put forward Khamitov to replace him. The 76-year-old Rakhimov was first elected president of Bashkortostan in December 1993 and was one of very few regional leaders to have remained in power since the 1990s.
The parliamentary representative said that should deputies approve Khamitov's candidacy at the extraordinary session he will be sworn in immediately after their vote.
"Thus, the new president of Bashkortostan will immediately begin his duties," he said.
Medvedev appointed Khamitov the republic's acting president on Thursday. He is part of the longstanding preference for technocrats rather than politicians as regional leaders, which began when the power to nominate them was given to the Kremlin during the presidency of Vladimir Putin.
The president's nominations must be rubber-stamped by the regional parliament.
Khamitov, 55, was deputy chairman of Russian hydroelectricity company RusHydro prior to his appointment and previously served as a deputy of the supreme council of Bashkortostan and headed the republic's Emergency Situations Ministry.
UFA, July 18 (RIA Novosti)
