President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held an extended government meeting, where he addressed the important topic of constitutional reform.
"A 130-member Constitutional Commission was created to systematize all the proposals. The Commission's composition was unprecedented for our country in its breadth and professionalism. Furthermore, no foreign experts were among its members. Since the beginning of October last year, all citizens have been able to express their opinions through the state digital platforms eGov and eOtinish, which received several thousand submissions. The Commission thoroughly reviewed and summarized all proposals and made a number of amendments. Importantly, the Commission's work was extremely open. Never before in our country have reforms been discussed so comprehensively or received such extensive live coverage," the President said.
He noted that by this time, ten meetings of the Constitutional Commission had already been held. Given the enormous number of amendments, the Commission members agreed that the scale of the changes required not a piecemeal approach, but the adoption of a new Constitution. As a result, the first draft of the new Basic Law was published in January.
"I'm pleased that this initiative has resonated so strongly in our society. One of the key objectives of my political course is precisely to enhance public engagement and political culture. I am convinced that such important principles as 'different opinions – one nation' and 'yes to pluralism, no to radicalism' will continue to foster public dialogue and the country's sustainable progress. But we can already confidently say that the presented draft Basic Law is a conceptually new document that clearly enshrines a qualitatively new level of development for our state," Tokayev continued.
The President emphasized that the provisions laid out in the draft new Constitution enshrine the consistency and logic of the development of Kazakhstan's political system based on the concept of "Strong President – Influential Parliament – Accountable Government."
"A panoramic view of the political reforms of recent years allows us to see that Kazakhstan is finally abandoning the super-presidential form of government and transitioning to a presidential republic with a credible and influential Parliament. The proposed changes naturally continue this process and, coupled with the political transformations of recent years, including the 2022 constitutional reform, raise the need for a complete overhaul of our country's constitutional foundations. Essentially, we are talking about creating a new system of governance," noted Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Overall, he emphasized, the draft of the country's new Basic Law incorporates all the fundamental principles and values aimed at consolidating the people and ensuring Kazakhstan's dynamic progress.
"I am convinced that the adoption of the new Constitution will provide a powerful impetus to Kazakhstan's development and will facilitate the realization of the potential of every citizen. In any case, the final decision on this matter will be made in a national referendum," the President added.
By the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
