News / More

Kazakhstan holds referendum to move past Nazarbayev era

Sunday, 05 June 2022 6:04 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 05 June 2022 6:36 AM ]

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev votes in the national referendum to make amendments to the Constitution, in Nur-Sultan on June 5, 2022.

Kazakh citizens have headed to the polls to vote in a national referendum to overhaul their country's constitution in a drive for a "New Kazakhstan".

The Sunday vote aims to transform the country's constitution, changing it from a super-presidential system to a “presidential system with a strong parliament”.

This comes after deadly unrest in January ended founding leader Nursultan Nazarbayev's three-decade grip on the Central Asian country with vast resources.

In 2019, Nazarbayev named Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to replace him, but retained the constitutional title of "Elbasy", or "Leader of the Nation", giving him the political clout needed to effectively influence the county's political scene.

The new constitution strips Nazarbayev of that title, addressing 33 separate articles of the Constitution – about one third of the total.

However, the new constitution retains the president's power to determine the main directions of domestic and foreign policy, national security and defense.

The referendum signals a gradual change to the presidential system, the redistribution and revision of competences between the three branches of government, and the liberalization of the political system at all levels.

In January, protests erupted over fuel price hikes in the oil-rich country. The deadly protests harmed the politically stable country that has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investment in its oil and metals industries.

Kazakhstan unrest: Dozens killed, about 2,000 arrested as protesters clash with police in Almaty

Clashes between protesters and security forces have left dozens killed in Kazakhstan

Tokayev blamed Western-linked "terrorist groups" for the unrest, prompting him to appeal for help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) — a military alliance made up of Russia and five other former Soviet states, namely, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Russia's intervention and troop deployment during the January unrest helped restore law and order in the county.

Kazakhstan is a major energy powerhouse and is also among the top international exporters of crude oil.

Additionally, the mineral rich country is among the top 20 exporters of natural gas.

Its other main export commodities include ferrous metals, copper, aluminum, zinc and uranium.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk