ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s new Constitution entered into force on July 1 following its approval in a nationwide referendum on March 15. Replacing the 1995 Constitution, it sets out changes to the country’s system of government, the distribution of state powers, constitutional rights and public institutions.
The key changes include a unicameral legislature known as the Kurultai, the introduction of the People’s Council as the nation’s highest consultative body as well as the office of vice president. One of the Constitution’s most significant institutional reforms is the replacement of the Mazhilis and Senate with a unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, consisting of 145 deputies elected through a nationwide proportional party-list system.
Deputies will serve five-year terms. Candidates must be at least 25 years old, have lived in Kazakhstan for the previous 10 years and take an oath upon assuming office. The candidate for the post of Kurultai Chair is nominated by the president. The Kurultai receives broader oversight powers.
It will review candidates for the government, hear regular reports from government ministers and receive an annual report from the prime minister. It will also have the authority to initiate a vote of no confidence in the government. The Kurultai will approve presidential nominees for vice president, prime minister, judges of the Constitutional Court, members of the Central Election Commission and the Supreme Audit Chamber.
It will also elect Supreme Court judges upon the president’s recommendation. The new Constitution grants the president additional authority to dissolve the Kurultai if lawmakers twice reject the president’s nominee for speaker or other key constitutional appointments, a provision intended to prevent prolonged political deadlock.
The Constitution also restores the office of vice president, which was abolished in 1996. The vice president will represent Kazakhstan internationally, coordinate cooperation between the president and state institutions, and carry out other responsibilities assigned by the head of state.
The officeholder may not simultaneously serve as a member of parliament, engage in business activities or belong to a political party. The Constitution also establishes a clear line of presidential succession. In the event of the president’s resignation, death or inability to perform official duties, presidential powers will automatically pass to the vice president.
If the vice president is unable to assume the office, authority will transfer to the chair of the Kurultai and subsequently to the prime minister. Upon assuming the presidency, the vice president must relinquish the vice presidential post. The Constitution also establishes a new advisory body, the Halyk Kenesi (People’s Council), replacing the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.