More than 80 percent of Kazakhstan’s Constitution to be rewritten

More than 80 percent of the text of Kazakhstan’s Constitution will be rewritten, with amendments affecting 77 articles. This was announced on January 28 during a meeting of the Constitutional Commission by Deputy Chair of the Constitutional Court Bakhyt Nurmukhanov.

According to him, the updated draft Constitution includes a preamble, 11 sections, and 104 articles. Two new sections — “The People’s Council” and “Amendments and Additions to the Constitution” — have been introduced, while four other sections have been renamed. Overall, amendments and additions have been made to all sections of the Basic Law, with changes covering 77 articles, accounting for 84 percent of the Constitution’s text.

Nurmukhanov noted that the draft concerns the “core foundation” of Kazakhstan’s constitutional system. It fundamentally changes the content of the Constitution and contains significant potential for subsequent institutional and structural reforms. In particular, guarantees for the implementation and protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of individuals and citizens will be strengthened, while the system of organizing unified state power will undergo substantial changes, even as the presidential form of governance is retained.

Among the key changes, the Deputy Chair of the Constitutional Court highlighted the introduction of a new model of a unicameral parliament, the expansion of forms of citizen participation in public administration, improvements in the effectiveness of rights protection mechanisms, and the strengthening of the Constitutional Court’s role in ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

It should be recalled that earlier Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree establishing the Constitutional Reform Commission.

Constitutional Amendments Timeline:

• 1998 — The terms of office of the president and members of parliament were extended.
• 2007 — A proportional electoral system was introduced, and the First President was granted the right to be elected an unlimited number of times.
• 2011 — Procedures for holding early presidential elections were established.
• 2017 — Certain presidential powers were transferred to parliament and the government.
• 2019 — Amendments were made following the renaming of the capital to Nur-Sultan.
• 2022 — One-third of the Constitution (33 articles) was amended through a nationwide referendum. The presidential term was set at a single seven-year term.