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Parliamentary Reform

Analysis: Three Decades of Parliamentary Reform in Central Asia — and What Changed

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced his reform plans on January 20, including structural changes to the government. Arguably, one of the least consequential of those changes is replacing the current bicameral parliament with a unicameral parliament. Across Central Asia, over the last 35 years, parliaments have repeatedly switched from unicameral to bicameral parliaments, or vice versa, the number of deputies has increased and decreased, and in some cases, parallel bodies have come into existence and later disappeared. Kazakhstan When the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, each of the former republics, including the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, had a unicameral, republican Supreme Soviet elected in 1990. These Supreme Soviets continued functioning after independence until 1994, and in the case of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, until 1995. In Kazakhstan, in December 1993, the majority of the 360 deputies in the Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve the body. In March 1994, there were elections to the new parliament (Supreme Kenges) that had 177 seats. During the tumultuous year of 1995, the parliament was dissolved by then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled by decree until snap parliamentary elections in December of that year. However, on August 29, 1995, voters approved a new constitution in a national referendum. That constitution created a bicameral parliament with 67 deputies in the Mazhilis, the lower house, and 50 deputies in the Senate, 10 of them directly appointed by the president. Deputies to the Mazhilis were chosen in popular elections. Senators were chosen in indirect elections involving deputies from local, provincial, and municipal councils of large cities. In the snap parliamentary elections of October 1999, 10 seats were added and chosen by party lists, while the original 67 continued to be contested in single-mandate districts. That structure lasted until 2007. Constitutional amendments adopted in late May that year increased the number of seats in the Mazhilis to 107, of which 98 were to be chosen by party lists. Nazarbayev’s Nur-Otan party won all 98 of the party list seats in the August elections. The remaining nine representatives came from the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan, a group representing the various ethnic groups in Kazakhstan that Nazarbayev created in 1995. Eight additional members of the Assembly were given seats in the Senate. The Assembly held its own elections to fill those seats. Kazakhstan conducted a constitutional referendum in June 2022, in part aimed at mollifying discontent that lingered from the mass unrest in early January that year, which left 238 people dead. Some amendments stripped away powers in the executive branch that had accumulated during the 28 years Nazarbayev was president, and more power was given to parliament. Another amendment removed the nine Mazhilis seats reserved for members of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan. One amendment reduced the number of Senate members appointed by the president back to 10, after it had been raised to 15 under a 2007 amendment. Kyrgyzstan A referendum in Kyrgyzstan on constitutional amendments in October 1994 created a bicameral...

Healthcare

Kazakh Science Ministry Expands Strategic Partnership with AstraZeneca

Kazakhstan has entered a new phase of cooperation with British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, expanding the partnership beyond healthcare into science, education, and innovation. On January 26, Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek visited AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre in Cambridge, the company’s largest global research and innovation hub, where a memorandum of understanding was signed with AstraZeneca Kazakhstan. According to the ministry, the agreement paves the way for new areas of collaboration aimed at strengthening national scientific capacity, introducing advanced medical technologies, and enhancing the long-term sustainability of Kazakhstan’s healthcare system. The partnership will focus on several strategic areas: Real-World Data (RWD) and Real-World Evidence (RWE): Development of advanced data analytics tools to support scientific research, clinical decision-making, and evidence-based healthcare policy. Expansion of the Young Health Program: Prevention of non-communicable diseases among youth and the promotion of responsible health behaviors. Sustainable Development and Economic Diversification: Joint initiatives in environmental protection, green technologies, and sustainable business practices. Early Diagnosis and Healthcare Resilience: Implementation of modern screening methods, specialist training, and development of diagnostic infrastructure. Nurbek highlighted that the memorandum creates new opportunities to integrate research, education, and real-world clinical practice. “It is important not only to develop fundamental science, but also to ensure the transfer of advanced technologies and data into everyday medical practice. This partnership strengthens Kazakhstan’s scientific and biomedical potential,” he said. AstraZeneca has steadily expanded its operations in Kazakhstan in recent years. In April 2024, the Ministry of Healthcare, the Almaty city administration, national investment agency Kazakh Invest, and AstraZeneca signed an agreement on the contract manufacturing of biotechnological products. The initiative supports Kazakhstan’s strategic goal of increasing the share of domestically produced medicines to 50%. In July 2024, AstraZeneca and the state pharmaceutical distributor SK-Pharmacy signed a long-term agreement on local production and technology transfer. According to Maria Shipuleva, CEO of AstraZeneca Kazakhstan, the company’s innovative medicines will be produced at the Nobel Almaty Pharmaceutical Factory. The production portfolio includes treatments for diabetes, chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease, multiple forms of leukemia, and cancer therapies for breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.

Transport Infrastructure

European Investment Bank to Allocate €100 Million for Tajikistan’s Transport Infrastructure Upgrade

The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to allocate €100 million to finance transport infrastructure projects in Tajikistan, according to an announcement by the country’s Ministry of Transport. The funding will support upgrades to existing infrastructure and improve the accessibility of transport services across the country. The investment is aimed at accelerating economic development, reinforcing the national transport network, and enhancing Tajikistan’s integration into regional logistics corridors. The funding is outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Tajikistan and the EIB, which serves as a framework for long-term cooperation. The memorandum was initially presented at the Global Gateway Investor Forum on Sustainable Transport Links between Europe and Central Asia, held in Brussels in January 2024, and was formally signed on April 4, 2025. Implementation efforts advanced during a working meeting on January 19 between Tajikistan’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Azim Ibrahim, and an EIB delegation led by Edvardas Bumsteinas, the bank’s Director for Asia and the Pacific Region. The two sides discussed project parameters, financing mechanisms, fund monitoring, and a preliminary list of initiatives eligible for support. The EIB reaffirmed its interest in “close cooperation” with Tajikistan and stressed that it will prioritize projects with regional significance that foster economic growth and transport integration. Officials on both sides believe that implementing the memorandum’s provisions will lay a foundation for the comprehensive development of Tajikistan’s transport sector and bolster its role as a key transit hub in Central Asia. This initiative complements a parallel effort by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which recently approved €10 million for the modernization of electric public transport in the city of Bokhtar. The EIB is the European Union’s official investment bank, wholly owned by EU member states. It operates in alignment with EU policy priorities and often partners with other European institutions to promote sustainable development globally.

Parliamentary Reform

Tokayev Proposes a New Constitutional Architecture

In mid-January 2026, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev moved Kazakhstan’s parliamentary reform agenda onto a deeper constitutional track. He framed the emerging package as comparable, in substance, to adopting a new constitution rather than making a bounded set of amendments. He also presented it as a further move away from the institutional logic of the 1995 framework and as the logical next step after the 2022 referendum changes, with the legislative branch identified as the main site of redesign. Tokayev laid out a two-stage pathway. First, a Constitutional Commission of more than 100 members is to consolidate proposals and draft a coherent text. The work is organized through the Constitutional Court leadership, and the participant pool is expected to include representatives of the National Kurultai, legal experts, media figures, maslikhat chairs, and regional public councils. The commission was established by decree shortly after Tokayev’s public rollout of the initiative, with early reporting identifying its chair and senior officers as part of the process’ initial institutionalization. Second, the resulting draft is to be submitted to a nationwide referendum, with timing to be set once the commission produces an implementable package. This is an architecture exercise before it is a policy program. The direction is clear enough to describe, but the operative meaning will depend on still-undetermined details, including how headline concepts are translated into constitutional language and how the referendum track shapes that drafting process. The Kurultai Plan and the Lawmaking Design Tokayev’s central institutional move is to abolish the current bicameral parliament and replace it with a single chamber, the Kurultai, combining functions now divided between the Mazhilis and the Senate. The change is publicly presented as consolidation, with unicameralism framed as a simplification of legislative structure that still keeps parliament as the focal representative institution within a presidential system. The package also sketches a streamlined internal design. Tokayev stated that the new chamber should comprise 145 deputies, with up to three deputy speakers and no more than eight committees. Public reports on the working-group discussions remark that earlier concepts ranged more widely before converging on 145; the current Mazhilis and Senate total 148 members. Tokayev indicated that deputies would be elected by proportional representation at the national level, while majoritarian rules would be retained at the regional level. He also signaled the removal of quota and appointment mechanisms associated with the existing system, including the elimination of a small number of presidentially appointed seats. A unicameral legislature raises a predictable design problem. Consolidation can increase legislative throughput unless procedures are structured to preserve deliberation. Allies of the reform have therefore emphasized a shift to a three-reading format, presented as a way to make lawmaking more deliberative. In practice, the decisive criteria here are implementation choices that are not yet public. These include final electoral rules, the internal allocation of committee jurisdiction, and procedural requirements governing readings, hearings, and amendments. Those choices will determine whether the Kurultai becomes a stronger site of relatively autonomous bargaining and scrutiny or a more efficient transmission...

Political Reforms

Tokayev Unveils Major Political Reforms as Kazakhstan Moves to Replace the National Kurultai

The fifth and final session of the National Kurultai in Kazakhstan, held on January 20, marked the announcement of plans to dismantle and replace two key institutions: the National Kurultai and the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, structures that have played central roles in the country’s civic dialogue, particularly over the past three decades. In a sweeping address, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared that these legacy institutions would be replaced by new mechanisms for state-society interaction, crafted with an eye toward modern governance models and constitutional reform. The move reflects Tokayev’s long-running criticism of consultative bodies that, while symbolically inclusive, have often duplicated functions or lacked clear decision-making authority. Tokayev’s address, which included references to U.S. President Donald Trump, prompted analysts to draw deeper geopolitical and institutional parallels. As Tokayev enters the second phase of his presidency, analysts note a shift in strategy and control. His first term (2019-2022) was marked by attempts to correct the excesses and structural stagnation of his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev. At the time, Tokayev faced entrenched resistance from the political establishment, with some officials reportedly appealing directly to Nazarbayev to circumvent presidential directives. The January 2022 unrest, an attempted power shift, marked a turning point. Tokayev consolidated power and launched a comprehensive reform agenda across the political and economic spectrum. The analogy with Trump, some analysts argue, lies in this dual-phase leadership: an initial struggle with the establishment, followed by a more assertive, transformation-driven second term. Since then, Tokayev has framed political reform as a safeguard against elite capture and institutional paralysis, arguing that fragmented authority contributed to the crisis. Yet Tokayev continues to face political resistance, particularly to structural reforms. Political analyst Daniyar Ashimbayev, commenting on Tokayev’s Kurultai speech, described the president’s evolving approach as both methodical and tactical. “Sometimes, the head of state announces strategic steps he has been considering for over a year, but only unveils them at the last moment, when no one has the opportunity to influence the message,” Ashimbayev observed. He cited Tokayev’s September 2025 proposal for a unicameral parliament as an example of such strategic maneuvering, an initiative that caught even senior officials by surprise. Ashimbayev argues that Tokayev’s aim was to sideline speculation about succession by announcing long-term institutional reforms. The president further solidified this strategy by reviving the position of vice president, abolished under Nazarbayev, while proposing the dissolution or merging of overlapping structures such as the Senate, the Assembly of the People, and the Kurultai into a proposed National People’s Council. This consolidation, Ashimbayev notes, serves both symbolic and strategic purposes. “The image of a 'lame duck' has vanished, and a self-confident Uncle Scrooge, so to speak, with complex plans, has returned. Everyone expected the discussions to take a year or a year and a half, but the president decided to seize the initiative again and unexpectedly moved the Kurultai to January, where he announced a huge package of new ideas,” he remarked. The announcement of the vice presidency, one of the most consequential changes, reportedly...

Healthcare Reform

Kazakh Government Transfers Control of Controversial Medical Fund to Ministry of Finance

The Kazakh government has restructured the management of the Social Medical Insurance Fund (SMIF), transferring oversight of its operations to the Ministry of Finance. The decision was formalized by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov following a comprehensive audit of the fund’s financial activities conducted over the past month. The SMIF serves as the principal operator of Kazakhstan’s Compulsory Social Medical Insurance (CSMI) system. It collects contributions from employees, employers, and the state, then allocates these funds to medical institutions based on the volume of services rendered. However, the fund’s operations have faced sustained public and parliamentary criticism. In January 2025, members of parliament declared that the SMIF had lost the public’s trust and called for tighter oversight of its expenditures. Delayed Audit and Financial Irregularities Despite growing concerns, a large-scale audit had long been postponed. It was not until December 2025 that the Prime Minister tasked the Ministry of Finance with analyzing the fund’s financial flows. Finance Minister Madi Takiev presented the audit’s findings last week. According to the government press service, the results raised serious concerns about the overall effectiveness of the country’s healthcare financing model. Despite a steady rise in expenditures, the Ministry of Finance found that SMIF’s efficiency had not improved. Since 2020, the fund’s investment income totaled $1.1 billion, including $383 million in 2025 alone. A significant portion of these funds, however, was not allocated toward medical services, and instead accumulated in the fund’s reserves. Overbilling and Digital System Failures An IT audit of the healthcare information system revealed extensive violations in service reporting. These included billing for fictitious patients, services provided without medical necessity, and instances of double financing. Numerous cases documented implausibly high volumes of procedures performed within short timeframes. Several high-profile anomalies stood out. In some reports, medical services were recorded for individuals who were deceased at the time. In another case, minors were allegedly prescribed more than a thousand medications in a single day. Tax authorities also conducted a desk audit of the directors of medical institutions, comparing declared incomes with actual property holdings. Transition to Centralized Oversight In response to the audit, Bektenov ordered that all materials be forwarded to law enforcement agencies for further investigation. This marks the effective dismantling of SMIF’s former autonomous governance model in favor of centralized control by the Ministry of Finance. The move comes amid rising fiscal pressure on the healthcare system. In 2026, the government will continue to fund medical insurance premiums for socially vulnerable groups. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the state will finance insurance coverage for over one million unemployed citizens.