Kazakhstan changes its Constitution - human rights and freedoms are declared the main priorities

During the winter session of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was adopted a written declaration entitled ‘Support for Kazakhstan’s Democratic Reforms and Regional Leadership’.

The document is high timely, given that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev continues the political reforms and offers the people a new version of the Constitution on the way to transformations.

Michael German

The initiator of the document was British parliamentarian Michael German, a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. The Declaration was signed by 21 parliamentarians representing various countries and political groups in PACE.

The Declaration highly appreciates Kazakhstan’s unwavering commitment to implementing large-scale democratic reforms, thereby strengthening the country’s status as a regional leader in democratic governance, human rights protection, and the rule of law.

PACE members welcome the significant steps taken by Kazakhstan’s political leadership to advance democratic transformations, including constitutional and legislative reforms and the abolition of the death penalty.

Special attention is paid to cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Council of Europe in key areas, including judicial reform, the fight against corruption, the promotion of human rights and the strengthening of democratic institutions. This cooperation has led to tangible results and strengthened Kazakhstan’s role as a model of democratic development in the region.

PACE members call for further support for the ongoing democratic transformations in Kazakhstan and the development of cooperation to promote the common values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Indeed, the adoption of this Declaration reflects an important initiative of the Council of Europe in relation to Kazakhstan.

Considering that the leadership of Kazakhstan, a large country in Central Asia, has embarked on large–scale reforms.

On January 31, 2026, the Constitutional Commission of Kazakhstan published the first official draft of a new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This is not merely a set of amendments but a comprehensively reworked version of the Basic Law, with changes affecting approximately 84% of the text (around 77 out of roughly 101 articles in the current version).

The draft was prepared by the Constitutional Commission, chaired by Constitutional Court President Elvira Azimova, based on thousands of proposals from citizens, political parties, NGOs, experts, and discussions at the National Kurultai.

The draft places human-centered governance at the forefront. For the first time in Kazakhstan’s constitutional history, human rights and freedoms are explicitly declared the main priority and core meaning of the entire document.

Key Institutional Changes

Transition to a unicameral parliament —Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan will contain 145 deputies elected via a proportional party-list system for 5-year term. Significantly expanded powers compared to the current Mazhils.

“Our main goal is to create a truly effective and professional parliament. The new legislative body should maximally support large-scale changes in the country from a legislative point of view,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed.

Then the new supreme consultative and advisory body for nationwide dialogue is establishing – People’s Council of Kazakhstan. It will be granted the right of legislative initiative.

The fact that the President of state will be elected for a single term of seven years will be preserved. He will not be able to be elected several times. Clarification of the president’s status: explicit right to voluntary resignation, minimum age of 40 years, requirement to be a citizen by birth.

The post of Secretary of State is abolished in the country and after the referendum, the date of which has not yet been determined, the institute of the Vice-President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is established. Tokayev noted that the president himself will appoint the vice president with the consent of the Kurultai by a simple majority vote.

It is assumed that the duties of the Vice President will include representing the country’s interests at international forums and negotiations with foreign delegations, speaking on behalf of the president in Parliament and interacting with socio-political, scientific, cultural and educational circles at home and abroad. In addition, the staff of the existing parliamentary structures is expected to be reduced and the presidential administration will undergo deep reforms.

Expert opinion.

Karlygash Jamankulova

Karlygash Jamankulova, head of the Kazakh Foundation for the Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil soz”, a member of the working group on parliamentary reform, told Deutsche Welle that Tokayev’s theses on the upcoming constitutional reform indicate a movement towards the real building of a democratic society in the country.

“Unfortunately, over the years, people have become accustomed to the fact that the government is very opportunistic and changes the Basic Law of the country to suit their needs. And when proposals appear that work for the strategic interests of the whole country and the entire population, it is very inspiring. I really hope that everything will work out, which I’m thinking about. If this happens, then President Tokayev will go down in the history of the country as the founder of democratic Kazakhstan, ” the expert said.

According to her, in his keynote address, the head of state took into account almost all the wishes that were voiced during the discussions at the meetings of the working group. For example, in terms of the number of deputies in the future unicameral parliament. “I think he named the most optimal number of deputies. My proposal was to leave 130 deputies in the region, and 145 deputies leaves a good proportion of representativeness, given that the population of Kazakhstan may grow significantly. This is actually one representative per 100,000 voters,” Karlygash Jamankulova said in an interview with DW.

The full text of the draft is available on the official website of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan as well as in the newspapers Egemen Qazaqstan and Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.

Public feedback and proposals are being collected via the e-Otinish and eGov portals.

President Tokayev has repeatedly stated that any final changes to the Constitution — even minor ones — will be adopted exclusively through a nationwide referendum.

In this regard, PACE supports the reforms that have begun under the leadership of President K.Tokayev is timely and useful for the bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Central Asia.