Relative challenges Kazakh ruler

Mr Nazarbayev is in no mood to give up power

The son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has mounted a challenge to his rule, after being sacked as ambassador to Austria.

Rakhat Aliyev, who is married to President Nazarbayev's eldest daughter, was sacked on Saturday after accusing the president of vote-rigging.

Mr Aliyev told the BBC he wanted to bring reform to Kazakhstan.

"We should create a democratic civil society in line with European standards," Mr Aliyev said.

The former ambassador, who is married to Dariga Nazarbayeva, said he believed he was well-placed to lead the country.

I know about corruption in the country and the illegal methods used by the security services Rakhat Aliyev

"Unfortunately we do not have opposition in Kazakhstan, except some officials who lost their posts and would like to be back in power," Mr Aliyev said.

"There is no opposition with a clear political agenda. I used to be in the top management of the national security committee of Kazakhstan. I know about corruption in the country and the illegal methods used by the security services," he said.

Before being sacked, Mr Aliyev had accused the country's leader of trying to silence him after he said he planned to run for the presidency.

What started as a family disagreement is now a major political scandal, the BBC's Central Asia correspondent Natalia Antelava says.

Earlier this week, President Nazarbayev ordered a criminal investigation into accusations his son-in-law masterminded the kidnapping of two senior bankers.

Then, on Friday, Mr Nazarbayev's government shut down a television station and a newspaper belonging to Mr Aliyev and his wife.

The country, he said, was slipping back into its totalitarian, Soviet past.

But few in Kazakhstan think that this power struggle has anything to do with democratic values - rather it is money and power, our correspondent says.

Mr Aliyev is an extremely controversial figure. Together with his wife, he has wide-ranging business and political interests and a strong following among some of the country's wealthy elite, she adds.

President Nazarbayev has been in office for 17 years. Last week he strengthened his rule by changing the law to allow him to run for the presidency as many times as he likes.