Following the arrest of dozens of protesters during demonstrations on Kazakhstan’s Independence Day on Monday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced Friday that the nation would begin moving toward liberalizing laws about rallies and the formation of political parties.

Rallies without official approval are illegal in Kazakhstan, which prompted the arrests at Monday’s demonstrations in the capital of Nur-Sultan and the city of Almaty. Participants were demanding reform and protesting against the continuing influence of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev held power for almost 30 years before stepping down last March, and he still retains the title of national leader as well as leadership of the security council.

The reforms announced by Tokayev include eliminating the need for official approval for political rallies, lowering the number of people required to form a new political party from the current 40,000 to 20,000, and removal of the offenses of slander and libel from the criminal code, which were often used as tools against activists and critics of the government.

Last month advocacy group Freedom House ranked Kazakhstan as having one of the largest declines in online freedoms, due in large part to crackdowns brought about by unrest caused by Nazarbayev’s resignation and the subsequent election of Tokayev, who is Nazarbayev’s chosen successor.