Kazakhstan abandons super-presidential system — Tokayev

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that the country has transitioned to a presidential republic. He made the statement on February 10 during an expanded government meeting.

In his speech, Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan has moved away from a super-presidential system in which presidential powers were excessively strong and other branches of government — parliament, the cabinet and the judiciary — could not provide real checks and balances.

“Looking at the political reforms of recent years, we can see that Kazakhstan has finally moved away from the super-presidential model and transitioned to a presidential republic with a credible and influential parliament,” Tokayev said.

According to him, the proposed changes will naturally continue this process. Alongside recent political transformations, including the 2022 constitutional reform, the need has emerged to comprehensively review the country’s constitutional foundations.

Tokayev noted that the provisions in the new draft constitution will strengthen the development of Kazakhstan’s political system based on the concept of a “strong president, influential parliament and accountable government.”

“The focus is on creating a new system of public administration. The proposed amendments will allow for a redistribution of powers, strengthen checks and balances, and, most importantly increase the effectiveness and stability of all political institutions. In the new draft constitution, the principle that ‘the state exists for the individual, not the individual for the state’ has gained real substance. Since 2019, we have consistently pursued this goal,” he added.

Tokayev signed a decree on January 21 establishing a constitutional reform commission. The commission is holding regular meetings to analyze proposals for parliamentary reform and prepare constitutional amendments. During its work, members reviewed proposals affecting all sections of the constitution and 77 articles, accounting for 84% of the document.

Kazakhstan has introduced several constitutional changes in recent decades. In 1998, the terms of the president and members of parliament were extended. In 2007, the country moved to a proportional electoral system and the First President was granted the right to be elected an unlimited number of times. In 2011, the procedure for holding early presidential elections was established. In 2017, certain presidential powers were transferred to parliament and the government. In 2019, amendments were made following the renaming of the capital to Nur-Sultan. In 2022, a nationwide referendum amended one-third of the constitution, including setting the presidential term at seven years, limited to a single term.