On March 15, voters in Kazakhstan are expected to cast ballots in a referendum on a draft new Constitution. The country last made major changes to its basic law in June and September 2022, but the authorities are now proposing a broader restructuring of the political system.
The first version of the document was published on January 31, 2026, but the text was revised until February 12. After those edits, the president would only have the “right to dissolve” parliament if it twice refuses to approve his nominees for vice president, prime minister, and several other posts.
The initiative grew out of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s earlier proposal to replace the bicameral parliament with a unicameral one and restore the office of vice president, abolished in 1996. Against that backdrop, two scenarios are being discussed: preparation for a transfer of power in 2029, when Tokayev’s term expires, or a possible reset of his term through later interpretation by the Constitutional Court.
“If the current constitutional rule of a single seven-year presidential term remains in place and the incumbent follows it, we will not be able to say that the new Constitution is more authoritarian than the previous one,” political scientist Yekaterina Shulman said.
Human rights advocates, however, warn of the opposite trend. According to Yevgeny Zhovtis of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, the new model would make the system more authoritarian and super-presidential, because the head of state would be able to appoint the leaders of key courts, the National Bank, the National Security Committee, the Central Election Commission, the prosecutor’s office, and other institutions without parliamentary approval.
Further concern surrounds vague clauses about protecting public health and morality, as well as a requirement to disclose information on NGO funding from foreign sources. At the same time, a new body, the People’s Council, is being created with the right to initiate legislation and propose referendums. Taken together, the reform looks less like a symbolic update than an effort to further tighten central control over the system.