Country Governance Briefing: Kazakhstan after its constitutional reset

Kazakhstan has rebuilt its state structure in seven months. Voters approved a new constitution on 15 March, with 87 per cent in favour on a 73 per cent turnout, according to preliminary figures from the Central Referendum Commission reported by Eurasianet. It took effect on 1 July, when the bicameral parliament gave way to a single-chamber Kurultai, as President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told the last joint session of the old chambers.

The Kurultai's 145 seats were filled on 23 August. Final Central Election Commission figures gave the pro-presidential Adilet party 71.17 per cent of the vote and 110 seats, with four other parties sharing 35 seats on a 74.08 per cent turnout, the Astana Times reported. The EU, citing OSCE/ODIHR's preliminary findings, noted "limited political and media pluralism" and procedural violations on election day, its spokesperson said. Aibek Dadebay, Adilet's chairman, was elected speaker at the first sitting on 28 August. Yerlan Karin became vice-president, a post the new constitution restores, and Olzhas Bektenov kept the premiership, Dunyo reported on 31 August.

On 7 July the Constitutional Court, answering a request from Tokayev, gave an interpretation under which officials who held posts under the 1995 constitution "may be elected or appointed to the corresponding positions after the 2026 Constitution enters into force". The single seven-year presidential term stays in the text, the Times of Central Asia reported.

Open reforms

• People's Council. A decree of 22 September approved the 126 members of the Halyk Kenesi, a constitutional consultative body that can submit draft laws to the Kurultai and initiate a referendum. It first met on 23 and 24 September, Trend reported.
• Local councils. At that session Tokayev said elections to maslikhats at all levels would complete the overhaul. Zakon.kz noted that most sitting deputies had been elected for Amanat, a party since absorbed into Adilet. His decree of 12 October, citing Article 88 of the constitution, ended the powers of all maslikhats early and told the election commission to organise extraordinary elections, which it set for 29 November, Bes.media reported.
• Lawmaking. Tokayev asked the first Kurultai to align sectoral laws with the new constitution and the government to prepare bills on digital assets and on artificial intelligence in secondary education, according to a report of his opening speech. He said his annual Address would come in October under Article 46, Zakon.kz reported; no date had been set by 17 October.
• Amnesty and entry rules. The Senate passed a law on amnesty tied to the new constitution on 11 June, including what it called the country's first administrative amnesty, its release says. Electronic travel authorisation will be phased in for all foreigners from 1 November under a government resolution, Interfax reported.

Court and regulator actions

• Kashagan. Representatives of North Caspian Operating Company argued that proceedings to enforce a 2.36 trillion tenge fine restricted the consortium's operations, according to the full text of a ruling by the specialised interdistrict administrative court of Atyrau region, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 7 October. Two days later it carried a Bloomberg report that ExxonMobil had blocked a proposal for the partners to settle what it put at a $5.2 billion environmental fine with the government (Interfax-Kazakhstan). The consortium members other than KazMunayGas are also contesting the fine at ICSID, the Times of Central Asia reported.
• Judiciary. The chairman and a judge of the Kazalinsk district court in Kyzylorda region were each sentenced to nine years for taking a large bribe, the National Security Committee said, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 5 October.
• Competition. The Agency for Competition Protection and Development has warned the taxi platform inDrive that its actions could breach antimonopoly law and consumer rights, after reports of threefold fare rises, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 13 October.
• Finance. A chief financial ombudsman and ombudsmen for banking, microfinance, insurance and securities have been elected, the financial market regulator said, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 2 October.

Programme conditions

Kazakhstan has no IMF lending programme, so its external benchmarks come from surveillance. Concluding the 2025 Article IV consultation on 27 January, the IMF Executive Board found "clear signs of economic overheating due to strong domestic demand and expansionary public sector stance" and said "the state footprint remains large and constrains private sector development". It asked for fiscal consolidation, including phasing out remaining tax exemptions, capacity to operationalise the new bank resolution framework, regulation of digital asset activity and a stronger AML/CFT framework, the press release shows.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women reviewed Kazakhstan on 6 October, according to the session schedule published by IWRAW Asia Pacific, in a session that closes on 30 October (UN Geneva). Kazakhstan also ratified changes to its WTO commitments on services on 16 October, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported.

What to watch: the date of the Address, the 29 November maslikhat elections and the next steps in the Kashagan fine litigation.