Kazakhstan’s citizens approved proposed constitutional modifications to soviet-era regulations under former President Nursultan Nazarbayev by an overwhelming majority in a historic referendum on June 5. After three decades in power, the former president abruptly resigned in March 2019.
Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission announced on Monday that 77 percent of voters backed the constitutional reforms, while slightly under 19 percent voted against them, according to preliminary figures.
The reforms are part of a campaign dubbed “New Kazakhstan” and sponsored by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the country’s current president.
President Tokayev announced the referendum on proposed constitutional amendments at his State of the Nation speech in March 2022, after repelling an attempted ‘coup’ in January and ousting the former president and his kin from important government positions. Nazarbayev was the head of the United Nations Security Council. The demonstrations against Nazarbayev’s administration were prompted by a sudden increase in petrol costs, but they also reflected widespread popular dissatisfaction with the country’s stagnating economy and autocratic rule.
Changes in the 56 amendments will deprive Nazarbayev of his “national leader” title, which grants him lifetime benefits.
The most significant change is the shift of the governing body from a super-presidential model to a presidential republic, which existed under the previous president. The president shall be forbidden from having any political party affiliation throughout his term under these revisions. The presidents and judges of all courts, as well as the chairpersons and members of the Central Election Commission, would be affected. The leaders of the Supreme Audit Chamber will be held to the same standard.
According to a report published by Kazakhstan’s national news agency, The Astana Times, the presidential quota in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, would be cut from 15 to 10 MPs, with the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan proposing five of them. The Assembly is a consultative and advising body that represents the country’s ethnic groupings.
The judiciary will alter as a result of the reforms. With the re-establishment of the Constitutional Court, the number of judges will increase to 11, four more than it is now. Parliament will nominate six judges, while the president will appoint the remaining four. The president will nominate the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court with the Senate’s approval.
Instead of the president, future constitutional revisions will focus on boosting the function and elevating the importance of Parliament. President Tokayev has also suggested that extractive industries and high-income individuals pay greater taxes.
Specific questions on alterations such as abolishing the death penalty were included in the proposed amendments.
They will also give Kazakhs the ability to immediately appeal normative legal actions to the Constitutional Court for evaluation.
Tokayev will try to establish his reputation as a long-awaited reformer following the referendum in order to move out of his predecessor’s shadow.
According to Reuters, the result reveals that a majority of citizens support the removal of Nazarbayev, who led the country for three decades until stepping down in 2019 and appointing Tokayev as his successor.
Obtaining domestic support would also aid the 69-year-old career diplomat in navigating the Ukrainian crisis, which has destabilised Kazakhstan’s economy and placed it in a precarious geopolitical position between Russia and the West.
Tokayev was earlier chastised for seeking assistance from a Russia-led security group during the upheaval in January, putting the Kazakh government in debt to Russia only weeks before Russia attacked Ukraine. More than 230 people have died as a result of the violent protests.
Kazakhstan has moved away from Moscow and closer to the West as a result of the vote.
Despite the fact that Russia is Nur Sultan’s most important economic and security ally, the West has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in the country’s oilfields and mines.
The Kazakh economy has been harmed by Western sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of the Ukrainian crisis. In March, the country’s currency, the Tenge, fell almost as much as the Russian Rouble. President Tokayev, on the other hand, has been cautious in his comments on the issue, encouraging all parties to behave in accordance with the United Nations Charter. Kazakhstan’s economic fate will be determined by the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
