Amendments to the Constitution of Kazakhstan

The 1998 amendments, adopted by Parliament and signed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on 7 October 1998, introduced changes to 19 articles of the Constitution.^[9] Among the key reforms was the removal of the upper age limit of 65 for the president and an increase in the presidential term from five to seven years.^[10] The amendments also abolished the age limit of 60 years for civil servants. The presidential succession procedure was adjusted, so that after the chairman of the Senate, the chairman of the Mäjilis was added before the Prime Minister in the line of succession. Additionally, the Mäjilis lost its exclusive right to call early presidential elections. Most notably, the procedure for electing deputies of Parliament was altered: election to the Mäjilis became possible only through party lists, eliminating self-nomination, while the right of self-nomination was preserved only at the local mäslihat level.^[11]

Constitutional experts such as Akif Suleymanov and Mereke Gabdualiev have observed that this reform limited citizens' passive suffrage rights.^[12]

The 2007 amendments were adopted by Parliament on 21 May 2007, introducing 30 changes to the Constitution. The presidential term was reduced from seven to five years, but the First President (Elbasy) was exempted from term limits.^[13][14] A proportional representation system was established with the aim of fostering political competition. The Mäjilis was expanded to 107 deputies, of whom 98 were elected by party lists, while the remainder represented the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan, which received constitutional recognition. Although these reforms introduced formal structures for political pluralism, power remained strongly concentrated in the presidency.^[11]

Adopted on 2 February 2011, the amendments allowed for early presidential elections, providing a constitutional mechanism for the incumbent president to renew his mandate.^[15] Earlier proposals for a referendum that would have extended Nazarbayev's president's term until 2020 were considered and adopted but rejected by the Constitutional Council.^[16][17] These amendments reinforced presidential continuity while maintaining the president's dominant position within the political system.^[11]

The 2017 constitutional amendments, described as part of the "constitutional modernization" initiative, were proposed on 25 January 2017 and adopted by the Parliament on 6 March 2017, entering into force on 10 March 2017.^[18][19]

The main objectives of these changes were to rebalance powers among state institutions and reduce the potential for concentration in the presidency. Some presidential powers were transferred to Parliament, including the approval of ministerial appointments and the initiation of legislation. The president was no longer able to object to decisions of the Constitutional Council, which is responsible for interpreting the Constitution, overseeing elections, and supervising referenda.^[11] Powers were redistributed among multiple institutions, creating a "collective succession" mechanism intended to ensure that presidential decisions reflected the interests of broader political forces. Additionally, a special legal regime was introduced for the financial sector within the capital of Astana. These reforms were presented as constitutional modernization while maintaining presidential oversight.^[12]

The 2019 amendments to the Constitution of Kazakhstan were adopted by Parliament on 23 March 2019 and came into force the same day.^[20][21] The main change was renaming the capital from Astana to Nur-Sultan in honor of outgoing President Nursultan Nazarbayev. This amendment followed Nazarbayev's resignation on 19 March and occurred during a period of political transition.^[22]

Following nationwide unrest in January 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed broad constitutional reforms under the "New Kazakhstan" initiative. The proposals were approved in a national referendum on 5 June 2022, officially came into force on 8 June 2022.^[23] Key changes included abolishing the special constitutional status of the former First President (Elbasy), prohibiting close relatives of the president from holding senior state positions, and restoring the Constitutional Court while strengthening parliamentary powers.^[24]

Later amendments in September 2022 included renaming the capital back from Nur-Sultan to Astana and changing the presidential term from renewable five-year terms to a single seven-year term.^[25]

These reforms marked a significant reduction of the "super-presidential system" and dismantled entrenched privileges from the Nazarbayev era.

• Constitution of Kazakhstan
• Politics of Kazakhstan