As Kazakhstan Marks Constitution Day, What Does the Occasion Really Symbolize?
Kazakhstan marks Constitution Day on August 30, an event inaugurated by the country's second president, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev. The day has taken on a new meaning since the events of January 2022, when violent unrest throughout the country put Tokayev's authority under the spotlight. This newer version of the country's laws is still being tested for strength. The new constitution was adopted following a national referendum in 2022, after the mass riots. The main change within it is the limitation of presidential terms. Under the new law, the president in Kazakhstan is elected once every seven years, and the same person cannot hold the post for consecutive terms. In 2022, when Tokayev was re-elected early under these new norms, there was a lot of talk about political tricks. His presidential term expires in 2029; there is hope that he will fulfil his obligations and simply stand down. The first constitution of independent Kazakhstan was adopted in January 1993. It incorporated laws on people's sovereignty, the independence of the state, recognition of the Kazakh language as the state language, recognition of the President as the head of state, and recognition of the judicial bodies -- the Supreme, Constitutional, and Higher Arbitration Courts. The 1993 constitution was based on the model of a parliamentary republic. The current constitution was adopted on 30 August 1995, again following a national referendum. However, since 1995, it has been amended five more times: in 1998, 2007, 2011, 2017, and 2019. The most significant changes took place in 2022, after the mass unrest of that January. On May 5, Tokayev announced a referendum on amendments to the constitution. According to him, the purpose of the amendments was to transition to “a new state model, a new format of interaction between the state and society ... from a super-presidential form of government to a presidential republic with an influential parliament and an accountable government.” Amendments to 33 articles were prepared. The referendum was held on June 5, 2022, and 77% of those who voted supported the amendments. It is these amendments that are being celebrated today: the constitution that represents the new path that Tokayev's Kazakhstan is taking.
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