President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree on February 11, 2026, to hold a national referendum on March 15, 2026, for the adoption of Kazakhstan’s new Constitution.

Kazakhstan’s proposed new Constitution would make a political transition starting July 1, including the end of the current Parliament’s mandate, if voters endorse the reforms in a national referendum on March 15.

The reform marks a transition from targeted amendments to a comprehensive constitutional transformation, reflecting changes across the political system, governance model, and the state’s value framework.

Background and Process

Process and Timeline

• The final draft of the new Constitution was presented to President Tokayev by Elvira Azimova, Chairperson of the Constitutional Commission and Constitutional Court, as well as other members of the Constitutional Commission.
• The day the new Constitution is adopted would be declared a state holiday. The document also stipulates that the current Parliament will continue to function until July 1.
• Within one month of the new Constitution’s entry into force (if approved through the national referendum), the Kazakh President must announce elections to the National Kurultai, the proposed new representative body, which must be held within two months.
• Developed over 12 meetings, the draft incorporates citizen and expert proposals submitted via the eGov and e-Otinish portals, as well as recommendations from the Parliamentary Reform Working Group.
• A Working Group on parliamentary reform was initially formed in October 2025 and conducted a six-month review process.
• During the nationwide public discussion of the interim draft, approximately 10,000 responses and proposals were submitted via the eGov and e-Otinish portals. All substantive proposals were systematically reviewed and reflected in the final text
• The Constitutional Court initially published the draft of a new Constitution on January 31, following an extensive constitutional reform process.
• The text of the final draft Constitution, which consists of 96 articles, was then published on February 12, making it available for public review leading up to the referendum.
• The drafting process was conducted in a fully open format. All meetings of the Constitutional Commission were broadcast live online and via social media platforms.

Background

• The constitutional reform was launched following President Tokayev’s proposal, announced on 8 September 2025 in his annual Address to the Nation, to establish a unicameral Parliament as part of a broader political system reset.
• The core elements of the constitutional reform had earlier been presented at a meeting of the National Kurultai on January 20, 2026.
• In January 2026, a Constitutional Commission was established, comprising 130 members representing all regions and social groups, including members of the National Kurultai (Congress), legal experts, government officials, media representatives, maslikhats (local executive bodies) chairs, and civil society.
• The Commission reviewed proposals affecting 77 articles – approximately 84% of the existing Constitution – leading to the decision to prepare an entirely new constitutional text.
• All Commission meetings were open and publicly broadcast, with broad participation from legal professionals, human rights advocates, parliamentarians, political analysts, and academic experts.

Key Points and Political System Changes

From a super-presidential model to a balanced system

• The draft Constitution is a conceptually new document that would consolidate the evolution of Kazakhstan’s political system.
• If adopted, Kazakhstan is parting with a super-presidential form of government and moving to a presidential republic with an authoritative, influential Parliament.
• The changes are intended to redistribute powers, strengthen checks and balances, and improve the effectiveness and sustainability of political institutions.

Parliamentary System

• Establishment of a unicameral Parliament (Kurultai) consisting of 145 deputies (members of Parliament).
• Deputies elected under a proportional electoral system.
• Five-year term of office.
• Expanded parliamentary powers. The Kurultai is explicitly empowered to issue a vote of no confidence in the Government (majority of the total number of deputies, on the initiative of at least one-fifth of deputies).
• Enhanced parliamentary oversight of ministers: at the initiative of at least one-third of deputies, the Kurultai may hear reports from Government members; by a two-thirds supermajority it may request the President to dismiss a minister for failure to implement laws, in which case the President must dismiss that minister.
• Appointment checks are constitutionalised: Kurultai consent is required for the appointment of the Vice President, Prime Minister, and for presidential appointments to Constitutional Court judges, the Central Election Commission, and the Higher Audit Chamber.

The proportional system is intended to strengthen political parties’ institutional development and accountability.

New Consultative Body (People’s Council of Kazakhstan)

• A new People’s Council of Kazakhstan is established.
• Highest nationwide consultative body, which represents the interests of the people of Kazakhstan.
• The People’s Council shapes domestic policy through recommendations, can submit draft laws to the Kurultai, initiate nationwide referendums, and exercise additional powers defined by constitutional law.

Executive Branch (President and Vice President)

• A Vice President is constitutionally established and is appointed by the President with the consent of the Kurultai (majority of the total number of deputies). The President determines the scope of the Vice President’s powers.
• The Vice President is barred from party membership, elected office, paid posts, and business activity.
• The President nominates a Prime Minister candidate after consultations with party factions in the Kurultai, appoints the Prime Minister with Kurultai consent, and appoints Government members upon submission by the Prime Minister, with prior consultation with the Kurultai, while retaining direct appointment authority over the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Internal Affairs.
• Succession order is constitutionally defined: Vice President → Chair of the Kurultai → Prime Minister.

Rule of Law and Legal Guarantees

The draft Constitution significantly strengthens legal safeguards and procedural rights, including:

• The legal profession (advocacy) is constitutionally recognised as supporting the right to judicial protection and legal assistance; legal aid may be delivered by advocates and other persons under law.
• Enhanced protection of intellectual property.
• A general prohibition on retroactive laws imposing new obligations or increasing liability is explicitly reaffirmed, including the principle that mitigation of liability applies retroactively.
• Core fair-trial safeguards are constitutionalised: right to be heard, presumption of innocence, burden of proof on the prosecution, “benefit of the doubt” in favour of the accused, exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, and a ban on conviction based solely on confession.
• Ban on double jeopardy.
• “Miranda rights” safeguards are explicitly constitutionalised in operational terms: at the moment of detention, a person must be informed of the grounds for restriction of liberty and of their rights; access to a lawyer is guaranteed from the moment of detention / suspicion / charge.
• A constitutional right to compensation for damage caused by unlawful actions of state bodies or officials is explicitly guaranteed.
• A defined list of constitutional rights is explicitly designated as non-derogable and cannot be restricted under any circumstances, including on political grounds.
• The Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsperson) is constitutionally recognised as independent and not accountable to state bodies or officials.

Digital and Information Rights

• A guarantee of personal data protection, including protection against unlawful collection, processing, storage and use of data, including through digital technologies.
• Protection of confidentiality of communications and financial information (including via digital technologies), with restrictions only as provided by law.

Core Principles and Values

The draft Constitution consists of 11 sections and 96 articles. It updates constitutional language, replaces outdated terminology, and reflects Kazakhstan’s evolving political system, social priorities, and international standing.

Key foundational values reaffirmed or newly enshrined include:

Human and Other Rights

The new Constitution places human rights and freedoms at the centre of the state’s constitutional framework. For the first time, they are declared in the Preamble as the highest priority of the state and form the guiding principle of the entire constitutional text. According to President Tokayev, Kazakhstan is creating a unified system that guarantees the protection of human rights and clearly defines ways to achieve them.

• Unity and solidarity, interethnic and interfaith harmony as the basis of statehood.
• Sovereignty, independence, the unitary nature of the state, and territorial integrity as immutable values.
• Justice (Just Kazakhstan), law and order, and environmental responsibility, enshrined at constitutional level.
• Recognition of the people of Kazakhstan as the sole source of state power and bearer of sovereignty.

Human-Centered Development and Strategic Orientation

• The Constitution redefines the long-term development trajectory of the state by identifying education, science, culture, and innovation as central constitutional priorities.
• This reflects a strategic shift toward human capital as the primary driver of national development, rather than reliance on natural resources.

Separation of State and Religion

• The draft Constitution reinforces the secular nature of the state, clearly separating religion from government and affirming the secular character of education and upbringing.

Family and Social Provisions

• Marriage is constitutionally defined as a voluntary and equal union between a man and a woman. This provision is framed as a measure to protect traditional values and strengthen the legal protection of women’s rights.

Support for national culture and historical-cultural heritage

• Constitutional recognition of support for national culture and preservation of historical and cultural heritage.

While introducing a fundamentally updated constitutional framework, the draft acknowledges the role of the existing Constitution in Kazakhstan’s state-building and historical development. The new Constitution is presented as marking the completion of the transformation of Kazakhstan’s institutional foundations and the transition to a new constitutional model.