Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared the start of a “new era” in the country’s history on July 1, as Kazakhstan’s new Constitution officially came into force following its approval in a nationwide referendum on March 15.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era in the history of sovereign Kazakhstan. We are embarking on the path of steady progress, political and economic reforms, and large-scale modernization,” Tokayev said in an official address published on the presidential website.
According to Tokayev, the new Constitution represents a fundamental restructuring of Kazakhstan’s political system and a transformation of the country’s key state and civil institutions. He said the March 15 referendum reflected what he described as a historic choice by the Kazakh people, one that would shape the country’s development for decades to come.
Tokayev also noted that Constitution Day is now symbolically linked to the start of the “Nauryznama” decade, connecting Kazakhstan’s traditional spring renewal celebrations with the principles of the new Basic Law.
In his address, Tokayev said the new constitutional framework would strengthen the values of law and order, hard work, progress, environmental responsibility, and national unity.
On the same day, Tokayev signed a decree calling elections to Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, for August 23, 2026.
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan’s new Constitution formally entered into force on July 1, 2026, following the March referendum. As part of the constitutional transition, the country’s previous bicameral legislature, the Mazhilis and the Senate, ceased operations, making way for the new parliamentary structure.
