Tokayev Announces Proposed Kazakh Constitutional Amendments for National Referendum

Kazakhstan's Head of State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, formally announced proposed amendments to the nation's Basic Law during an expanded Government session on February 10, 2026. This announcement advances a sustained political reform agenda aimed at transitioning the country from a super-presidential structure to a presidential republic featuring a substantially empowered parliament.

President Tokayev asserted that the draft Constitution solidifies a clear distribution of authority: a strong presidency, an influential legislature, and a government held accountable. This structural transformation, he stated, is designed to reinforce the system of checks and balances and enhance the overall efficacy of political institutions. The proposed changes naturally extend the trajectory set by earlier reforms, including those enacted in 2022, which also sought to curb the super-presidential model.

The development of the draft Constitution was the product of the Constitutional Commission, which completed its initial draft in January 2026 following ten meetings. President Tokayev expressed conviction that adopting the new Constitution will significantly propel Kazakhstan's progress and facilitate the realization of every citizen's full potential, further manifesting the fundamental principle: "the state for the person, not the person for the state." The ultimate determination on these fundamental changes, as confirmed by Tokayev, will be put to a nationwide referendum.

A specific point of focus within the draft relates to linguistic provisions. Bakhyt Nurmukhambetov, Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, indicated that the wording concerning the use of the Russian language in state and local government bodies has been revised. The term "on an equal footing" ("наравне") has been replaced with "along with" or "side-by-side" ("наряду"). Experts interpret this terminological adjustment as an effort to ensure semantic consistency, explicitly establishing the Russian language's use "alongside Kazakh," while maintaining Kazakh as the state language.

The ongoing reform process underscores Kazakhstan's commitment to modernizing its post-independence political framework. Previous reforms, such as those in 2022, also aimed to strengthen parliament and local authorities to move away from centralized power. The proposed constitutional overhaul, which affects a significant portion of the existing document, will ultimately be decided by the Kazakh people through the forthcoming national vote.