Today, February 26, Smolyakova received her mandate from the Deputy Chair of the Central Election Commission Mukhtar Erman.
Smolyakova serves as the Vice-Rector for Social and Educational Affairs at KBTU in Almaty. Her new colleague and blogger Beibit Alibekov pointed out to his followers on his Telegram channel that Smolyakova has an excellent command of the Kazakh language.
Political scientist Daniyar Ashimbaev commented on Alibekov's remarks as follows:
“All the party has reported about the new deputy is her knowledge of the state language. It seems that, firstly, deputies are indeed expected to possess other skills. Secondly, linking the promotion of non-Kazakhs to parliament or public service solely with knowledge of the Kazakh language is a disservice to public policy, which has recently become fashionable,” Ashimbaev believes.
The party's press service later provided information that Ekaterina Smolyakova was born on August 2, 1987. She holds a higher education degree in "Kazakh Language and Literature," as well as a DBA degree from the Kazakhstan-British Technical University.
The main priorities for the new deputy's work include supporting education, developing social initiatives, and enhancing the role of women and youth in society.
"Kursiv" reported the day before that Ruslan Berdenov became the deputy akim of Shymkent while retaining his position in the party.