Official: Kazakhstan launches new round of constitutional reforms

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree establishing a Commission on Constitutional Reforms (Constitutional Commission). The text of the decree was published on the president’s official website on January 21.

According to the announcement, the commission has been established to develop proposals for constitutional reform.

The decree approves the commission’s regulations and composition, while oversight of its implementation has been assigned to the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The document enters into force on the day of its signing.

Tokayev first announced plans to amend the Constitution and establish a constitutional commission during his address at the fifth session of the National Kurultai held in Kyzylorda on January 20. At the time, the president emphasized that the scope of the planned reforms was comparable to adopting an entirely new Constitution.

The president said that the Constitutional Commission would include more than 100 members, including National Kurultai members, prominent legal experts, heads of mass media outlets, council chairpersons, representatives of regional public councils, and other specialists. The commission will be led by Chair of the Constitutional Court Elvira Azimova, with Deputy Chairs State Advisor Erlan Karin and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information Aida Balayeva. Aidar Zharilganov, head of the State and Legal Department of the Presidential Administration, has been appointed as the commission’s secretary.

It should be recalled that during the fifth session of the National Kurultai in Kyzylorda on January 20, President Tokayev announced plans for Kazakhstan to return to a unicameral parliamentary system, to be named the Kurultai, restore the position of vice president, abolish the post of state advisor, and introduce a number of constitutional amendments.

For reference, the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been amended six times to date, with the most recent changes made in 2022.

Constitutional amendments in Kazakhstan include the following:

• In 1998, the terms of office of the president and members of parliament were extended.
• In 2007, the country transitioned to a proportional electoral system and granted the First President the right to be elected an unlimited number of times.
• In 2011, procedures for holding early presidential elections were established.
• In 2017, certain presidential powers were transferred to parliament and the government.
• In 2019, amendments were made in connection with the renaming of the capital to Nur-Sultan.
• In 2022, one-third of the Constitution (33 articles) was amended through a nationwide referendum, and the presidential term was set at a single, non-renewable seven-year term.