Kazakhstan votes in referendum on adoption of amendments to Constitution
Nur-Sultan, 5 June 2022 – Voting has begun this morning in a nationwide referendum on the adoption of amendments and additions to the Constitution of Kazakhstan.
11,722,536 voters are eligible to vote at one of 10,012 polling stations that opened across all regions of the world’s ninth largest country as well as abroad where Kazakhstan citizens are able to cast their vote at 65 polling stations established at the diplomatic missions in 52 states.
Voting will take place between 07:00 to 20:00 local time (01:00 to 14:00 GMT time Nur-Sultan time). One question has been put to the vote: “Do you accept amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan set forth in the draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Amendments and Additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” published in the media on 6 May 2022?” To be approved, the proposed amendments need to gather the simple majority of all votes, and a minimum turnout of 50% of registered voters.
This is the first referendum in Kazakhstan since 1995, when the current Constitution was initially adopted. If approved by the public, 56 proposed changes will impact 33 articles of the Constitution, which is one third of the document.
A total of 272 international observers and 215 foreign journalists have been accredited to monitor the referendum, including 209 observers from 10 international organisations, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries, among others. 63 additional observers have been accredited from 25 countries.
The constitutional reform is aimed at a comprehensive transformation of the state model, which includes the transition from a “super-presidential” form of government to a presidential republic with an influential parliament and an accountable government. The reform entails limiting the powers of the President. In addition, if approved, the reform would significantly strengthen the representative branch of power and the system of checks and balances, and increase the independence of maslikhats (regional and local councils). Furthermore, a mixed majority-proportional model for the election of deputies to the Parliament, regional and local councils) would be introduced. Significant part of the amendments focus on enhancing the protection of human rights, by establishing the Constitutional Court, consolidating the status of the Commissioner for Human Rights at the constitutional level, and fully banning the death penalty.
Previously, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, explained that he proposed to hold a referendum because “such large-scale changes should be carried out on the basis of the will of the people.” According to the President, the referendum will demonstrate the country’s firm commitment to democratic principles, as “it will allow every citizen to take a direct part in the historic event that will determine the future of Kazakhstan.”
For reference
On 16 March 2022, President Tokayev delivered his State-of-the-Nation Address, which contained significant political reforms and proposals to democratise the political processes in Kazakhstan. For their effective implementation, amendments and additions to the Constitution were required, which means a constitutional reform was necessary.
To prepare the draft amendment to the Constitution, a special working group was established, which included prominent legal scholars, experts, and representatives of authorized bodies.
After a detailed review of all the proposals, the draft amendments were sent to the Constitutional Council, which gave its opinion on its compliance with the provisions of the Constitution.
President Tokayev announced on 5 May that he signed a Decree on holding the referendum in one month from the moment.