Kurultai - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 17

Constitutional Reform

Kazakhstan’s Parliament Gives Way to New Kurultai Under Tokayev’s Constitutional Reset

Kazakhstan’s bicameral parliament held its final joint session in Astana on June 30, closing a 30-year legislative era before the new Constitution takes effect on July 1. The change will replace the Senate and Mazhilis with a single-chamber Kurultai. Elections to the new body are expected in August, with 145 deputies to be elected through party lists. No current deputy will transfer automatically into the new chamber, giving the coming vote direct importance for Kazakhstan’s parties and for President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s wider state overhaul. Addressing the final joint session, Tokayev framed the change as more than an administrative reform. He said Kazakhstan was entering “a new chapter in the development of independent Kazakhstan,” and beginning what he called a new historical era. The president also used his speech to summarize the work of the parliament created under the 1995 Constitution. Over three decades, the legislature adopted around 3,500 laws, which Tokayev said had helped strengthen the country’s statehood. “Today, we are completing an important parliamentary political cycle and opening a new chapter in the development of independent Kazakhstan,” Tokayev said. According to Tokayev, more than 300 major laws, including constitutional legislation, have been adopted over the past three years. He described them as “a reliable platform for our future achievements.” The transition also carries a succession dimension. The new Constitution creates a vice presidency and rewrites parts of the state architecture ahead of the scheduled end of Tokayev’s single seven-year presidential term in 2029. Tokayev has presented the changes as a modernization of governance, while the August Kurultai election will show how much room the new party-list system gives to political competition. Tokayev told deputies that the new legislature would need to move faster than the outgoing parliament. He said the Kurultai would be expected to remove bureaucratic obstacles, improve the speed and quality of law-making, and bring qualified experts and consultants into legislative work. “The Kurultai will have to eliminate all obstacles in the form of bureaucratic procedures, increase the speed and quality of law-making, and organize the effective work of qualified experts and consultants,” Tokayev said. He linked those goals to global instability and digital competition, saying Kazakhstan had to adapt legislation to a rapidly changing environment. “The Kurultai will have to work at an accelerated pace to promptly adapt national legislation to rapidly changing realities within the digital matrix,” Tokayev said. “This is a critically important task, as it will determine Kazakhstan’s readiness to participate in global competition.” Tokayev praised the outgoing deputies for their work on digital legislation. He said there had been no ready-made templates for regulating artificial intelligence, and credited the parliament with helping build a flexible legal system. Tokayev said Kazakhstan had become one of the first countries to adopt both a Digital Code and a specialized law on artificial intelligence. He also pointed to the new Constitution’s guarantees on the protection of personal data in cyberspace. The next phase, he said, would include a full e-Parliament system. Tokayev first raised that idea...

Kazakhstan's Parliament

Kurultai Election Campaign Takes Shape in Parliament’s Final Budget Debate

Kazakhstan's outgoing parliament spent one of its final sessions debating the government's management of the 2025 budget, in what often resembled a dress rehearsal for the country's first Kurultai election campaign. On July 1, Kazakhstan’s new constitution will enter into force, replacing the current Senate and Mazhilis with a single-chamber Kurultai. The new legislature will have 145 deputies elected through party lists, and elections are expected in August. No current deputy will transfer automatically into the new chamber. Those who want to remain in national politics will need a place on a party list and a fresh mandate. That gave the June 26 session an unusual political significance: would any outgoing deputies use the budget debate to make a final public break with the government? Some did put pointed questions to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and Finance Minister Madi Takiyev as parliament reviewed and approved the reports of the government and the Supreme Audit Chamber on the execution of the republican budget for 2025. Finance Minister Madi Takiyev presented the figures in optimistic terms. According to him, Kazakhstan’s economy grew by 6.5% in 2025, while GDP increased by $14.7 billion in dollar terms. Meanwhile, public debt remains low at around 22.8% of GDP, or approximately $74.5 billion. Deputies asked Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov why, despite GDP growth of 6.5%, Kazakh citizens’ incomes had declined. Bektenov referred to high inflation, which has been eating into household incomes. “Last year, inflation peaked in September at 12.9%. Now, as a result of measures taken by the government, the National Bank and other interested agencies, inflation over the first five months of this year has declined to 10.4%,” the prime minister said. He recalled that the government had adopted a separate plan to raise household incomes. According to the government, the average monthly wage reached 442,000 tenge, about $910. He said there were already sectors, such as agriculture and transport, where real incomes had increased. Mazhilis deputy Azat Peruashev, who recently stepped down after 15 years as chairman of the Ak Zhol party but still heads its parliamentary faction, focused on the National Fund. He said the government had failed to keep an earlier promise to reduce withdrawals. “When approving the draft budget for 2024-2026, the government announced a plan to reduce withdrawals from the National Fund starting in 2025. In fact, the volume of funds received from the National Fund in 2025 remained high, at approximately $10.8 billion,” he said. The National Fund is one of the most politically sensitive parts of Kazakhstan’s public finances. Built largely from oil and gas revenue and managed through the National Bank, it is meant to serve two functions: to help stabilize the budget when commodity revenue falls, and to preserve part of the country’s resource wealth for future generations. Heavy withdrawals therefore carry a political cost. They can help cover current spending, but they also reduce the savings Kazakhstan has accumulated from its oil wealth, making the size of annual transfers a perennial political argument. Peruashev...

political parties

Kazakhstan’s Party System Faces Its First Kurultai Test

Kazakhstan’s shift to a unicameral, party-list Kurultai is meant to strengthen political parties. But the ruling Amanat party’s June 12 vote to join the newly created Adilet party, followed by Adilet delegates’ approval on June 14, shows the first test of the new system will show whether the new party-list model broadens competition or mainly reorganizes the pro-presidential camp before the vote. Why Parties Matter Now On July 1, 2026, Kazakhstan’s new Constitution enters into force, abolishing the bicameral parliament and replacing it with a unicameral Kurultai of 145 deputies elected exclusively through party lists for a five-year term. The new basic law was approved in a referendum on March 15, 2026. According to the Central Election Commission, it was supported by 87.15% of voters, with turnout at 73.12%. More than 80% of the text of the 1995 Constitution was rewritten. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said elections to the new Kurultai will take place in August 2026. That makes Kazakhstan’s political parties especially important to watch: for the first time since 2004, key parliamentary players could change substantially. But the early signal is mixed: formal rules strengthen parties as electoral institutions, while the merger of pro-presidential forces consolidates the dominant camp’s organizational advantages. How the Party System Works Kazakhstan is a presidential republic in which parties operate under the Law “On Political Parties.” Until 2022, registering a party required at least 1,000 initiators and at least 20,000 members. After political reforms announced by Tokayev on March 16, 2022, the minimum number of initiators was reduced to 700, while the membership threshold was lowered to 5,000. The minimum size of regional branches was also reduced from 600 to 200 people, and the period allowed for forming branches was extended from six months to one year. In 2023, 98 deputies were elected to the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament: 69 through party lists and 29 in single-mandate constituencies. The threshold for party lists was lowered from 7% to 5%. Under the new Constitution, single-mandate constituencies are abolished at the national level, and all 145 deputies of the Kurultai will be elected through party lists. Without single-mandate districts, independent political figures will need party access to enter national politics. Parties also take part in elections to maslikhats, local representative bodies at district, city, and regional levels. Those elections were held simultaneously with parliamentary elections on March 19, 2023. Eight Parties: The Current Landscape As of June 2026, before the Amanat-Adilet merger process is completed, Kazakhstan has eight officially registered political parties, the highest number in two decades. Six are represented in the current Mazhilis: Amanat, Auyl, Respublica, Ak Zhol, the People’s Party of Kazakhstan, and the Nationwide Social Democratic Party. The seventh, the environmental party Baitaq, was registered on November 30, 2022, as Kazakhstan’s first “green” party. It failed to clear the 5% threshold in the 2023 elections, receiving 2.30% of the vote. The eighth, Adilet, was registered by the Ministry of Justice on June 1, 2026. It is headed by Aibek...

political parties

Kazakhstan’s Party Landscape Enters a Decisive Week

Kazakhstan’s party system may be approaching one of its most consequential turning points in years. With Amanat scheduled to hold a party congress on June 12 and the newly registered Adilet party planning its own gathering on June 14, speculation is growing that the country’s dominant political organization could be reshaped, merged, or rebranded ahead of elections to the new unicameral Kurultai. The immediate question is whether Amanat, the successor to the party originally created around Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, will remain the major pro-presidential force or whether its extensive organizational resources will be drawn into Adilet, a new party aligned with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s political agenda and reform program. For now, no merger has been officially announced, but the timing of the two congresses has made the possibility central to Kazakhstan’s political debate. Adilet held its founding congress on May 7, and was officially registered by the Ministry of Justice on June 1. It is led by Aibek Dadebay, the former head of Tokayev’s administration, and presents itself as a pro-presidential force built around the language of justice, responsibility, and reform. Its emergence adds an eighth officially registered party to Kazakhstan’s system, but its political importance lies less in the number of parties than in the possibility that it could become the new vehicle for the president’s loyalist coalition. That makes Adilet’s appearance significant in a regional context. For many years, Kyrgyzstan was often regarded as Central Asia’s most advanced state in terms of party development and political pluralism. Today, however, Kazakhstan has become a more influential reference point for party-building, one that is attracting attention in Tashkent and Dushanbe, while Kyrgyzstan has largely moved away from party-centered politics. Kazakhstan has developed a multi-party model in which several major political organizations are represented in parliament. The system seeks to balance the interests of the state with those of various social groups and constituencies. Individual elements of this model can be adjusted or transformed as political demands evolve. For example, as public nostalgia for communism began to fade, the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan quietly dropped the word “Communist” from its public identity. Ironically, when the party was originally established, the word “People’s” had been added to distinguish it from the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, from which many of its founders had emerged. Through such splits, mergers, and rebrandings, Kazakhstan has gradually constructed a party system that encompasses organizations representing a broad spectrum of society, from state officials and business interests to rural communities. In both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, five political parties are officially registered. Their political spectrum broadly mirrors that of Kazakhstan: a dominant ruling party, a socialist or communist party, and organizations positioning themselves as democratic, people’s, agrarian, or environmental movements. Kyrgyzstan, by contrast, has taken a markedly different path. In 2025, the country completed its transition from a party-centered political system to one in which parties play a secondary role. Elections to the Jogorku Kenesh are now conducted primarily through a majoritarian model that emphasizes individual...

parliamentary elections

Kazakhstan’s August Elections: Who Will Enter the New Parliament?

On July 1, Kazakhstan’s new Constitution will come into force, triggering the dissolution of the current bicameral parliament. According to political observers, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to sign a decree in early July calling elections to a new unicameral legislature, to be known as the Kurultai. No date has yet been formally announced, but analysts expect the vote to take place in the second half of August, most likely on either August 16 or August 23. On June 1, Kazakhstan officially registered a new political party, Adilet, meaning “Justice,” led by Aybek Dadebay, the former head of Tokayev’s presidential administration. As a result, eight political parties are now officially registered ahead of the election campaign, six of which are currently represented in the lower house of parliament. So far, however, none of the parties has shown significant signs of gearing up for the campaign. “Kazakhstan’s political parties know perfectly well that parliamentary elections will take place in the second half of August, that they will be conducted under a proportional representation system, and that skipping the election is not advisable because it could affect party financing,” political analyst Gaziz Abishev wrote on his Telegram channel. “They could already be actively working to revive their party brands and promote the public figures who will become the faces of the campaign. Yet the passivity is obvious.” In his view, internal party, inter-party, and broader elite-level processes are currently underway, suggesting that some form of political transformation is taking place behind the scenes. The emergence of Adilet appears to have influenced the calculations of Kazakhstan’s political class. The arrival of a second openly pro-presidential party introduces a significant element of uncertainty into a system long dominated by Amanat. Amanat traces its roots to former President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s political machine. Originally known as Otan, or “Fatherland,” it became Nur Otan in 2006 before being rebranded as Amanat following the January 2022 unrest. Former presidential candidate Amirzhan Kosanov believes the creation of Adilet reflects Tokayev’s desire to create political competition within the ruling elite while presenting it internationally as evidence of political pluralism. “Given the executive branch’s influence over election commissions and the largely artificial nature of the party system, the campaign beginning in July will most likely resemble a controlled competition between two principal actors: the ruling Amanat party and the new Adilet party,” Kosanov argued. For critics of the system, the upcoming elections increasingly resemble a contest between two pro-presidential forces. Organizationally, Amanat remains a formidable political machine. It inherited from the Nur Otan era an extensive nationwide network of regional branches and primary organizations embedded in large workplaces and institutions. Adilet, meanwhile, has already secured backing from a wide range of business associations, professional groups, technology organizations, creative-industry bodies, and civic initiatives. Its political council also includes senior executives from some of Kazakhstan’s largest companies, including Qarmet, Kazakhtelecom, and Allur Auto. Despite this, few analysts believe Kazakhstan is moving toward an American-style two-party system. Amanat and Adilet share broadly similar political...

Elections

Kazakhstan Rules Out Fines for Not Voting in Elections

Kazakhstan does not plan to introduce compulsory voting or impose fines on citizens who fail to participate in elections and referendums, Central Election Commission (CEC) Secretary Shavkat Utemisov said. Speaking on the sidelines of a joint session of parliament, Utemisov acknowledged that declining voter participation, particularly among young people, remains a challenge in Kazakhstan. He said, however, that the country does not intend to adopt practices used in some states where voting is mandatory. Utemisov added that some countries have lowered the voting age, citing Belgium, while others impose penalties, including fines, on citizens who fail to appear at polling stations. “But Kazakhstan is not taking that path at the moment; for us, this issue is not as pressing as it is in the West,” he said. Kazakhstan’s most recent major electoral event was the constitutional referendum held on March 15. According to the CEC, approximately 12.4 million citizens were eligible to vote, while more than 9.1 million cast ballots, a turnout of 73.12%. The next major political event will be elections to Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, which President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev previously said would take place in August. Utemisov stressed that draft amendments to the Constitutional Law “On Elections,” adopted by the outgoing parliament, contain no provisions introducing mandatory voting. According to him, the CEC also has no plans to initiate such amendments in the near future. The election official added that ensuring voter turnout should be the responsibility of political parties participating in campaigns. At the same time, he warned that any attempts to encourage participation through cash payments or gifts could be interpreted as voter bribery. During the joint parliamentary session, lawmakers also approved the Constitutional Law “On the Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Status of Its Deputies,” which will enter into force on July 1. The new parliament will consist of 145 deputies, compared to the current bicameral legislature, which includes 148 members, 98 deputies in the Mazhilis and 50 senators. Deputies in the Kurultai will serve five-year terms. Elections will be held exclusively under a proportional representation system based on party lists. “The draft law defines the place of the Kurultai within the system of state authorities, the principles of its operation, its structure, the procedure for its formation, and the mechanisms for exercising its powers,” Mazhilis deputy Aidos Sarym said. According to Sarym, the legislation also establishes the powers of the new parliament to adopt laws, participate in the formation of state bodies, and conduct parliamentary oversight. A separate provision states that the Kurultai will become the legal successor to the current parliament. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that the August vote will become Kazakhstan’s first parliamentary election in which citizens vote exclusively for political parties rather than individual candidates.