Kazakhstan parliament passes reforms reducing presidential powers

    Kazakhstan's parliament on Monday approved a package of amendments to the constitution to reduce presidential powers in favor of lawmakers and the cabinet, a move that could help lead to an eventual political transition.
    President Nursultan Nazarbayev had already endorsed the proposed changes, and they will become law once he has signed the amendments which were passed by parliament in a second and final reading.
    Kazakhstan, an exporter of oil and metals, is the only former Soviet republic that is still run by its communist-era leader. Aged 76, Nazarbayev has not identified a clear successor and the uncertainty has caused concern for investors.
    The devolution of some presidential powers could make it easier for the political elite to manage a succession by splitting key roles between different players rather than allowing one successor to concentrate power in his or her hands.
    At the same time, the reform is unlikely to change Nazarbayev's position as a powerful ruler.
    Nazarbayev said this year that the proposed constitutional reforms would allow parliament to form a cabinet which would in turn have more powers to manage the economy.
    Under the current constitution, Nazarbayev appoints all cabinet members. His Nur Otan party dominates parliament, which has no serious opposition parties.
    Following the reforms, the president will focus on strategic matters, foreign policy and national security and will serve as an arbiter between the branches of power, Nazarbayev has said, as reported by Reuters.
    Kazakhstan is on its own way of democratic development, the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Friday, adding that the democratic transition of many states took decades.
    "We all have a common goal — to make the system of governance more efficient, sustainable and modern. This confirms that our way is the way of democratic development of society. I have always emphasized when someone said that we had not enough democracy that democracy is not the beginning of the path, it is the end, our goal," Nazarbayev said during the joint session of parliament's upper and lower houses.
    He stressed that the country was gradually reforming, adding that it was unclear so far what the outcome of the democratization would be.
    Kazakh Senate (upper house) and Mazhilis (lower house) are set to debate in the first reading a bill envisaging amendments to the constitution. The changes are applied to the powers and authorities of local governors, the parliament, the supreme court, as well as provides more guarantees and respect for human rights, according to Sputniknews.