Kazakhstan’s constitution reshaped: Voters weigh bold reforms in landmark referendum

In a seismic shift that reshapes Kazakhstan’s political future, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has just unleashed a constitutional referendum that promises both bold reforms and hidden power grabs. The vote, held on Sunday, saw an overwhelming 87 to 89 percent approval—according to state exit polls—while turnout exceeded 73 percent, a testament to the government’s aggressive mobilization efforts. Yet beneath the veneer of democratic progress lurks a troubling reality: the amendments, pushed through in just two weeks, are rewriting the country’s basic law with a heavy hand, prioritizing presidential authority over checks and balances.

The referendum, timed to coincide with a fragile post-protest era, follows the violent 2022 unrest that left 238 dead after rising living costs sparked nationwide riots. Tokayev, a former Soviet diplomat fluent in Chinese, framed the changes as a transition from a “super-presidential” system to a “presidential republic with a strong parliament”—a narrative designed to reassure both domestic and foreign audiences. Yet the text itself reveals a far more authoritarian shift: the president now holds the power to appoint top officials, including the heads of the central bank, intelligence services, and the constitutional court, a move that would strip these roles of Senate approval. The upper chamber, the Senate, is being abolished entirely, replaced by a single-chamber assembly called the Kurultai—a body the president can dissolve and rule over by executive decree if it repeatedly rejects his nominees.

Critics warn that these changes are more about consolidating power than democratizing. The new constitution tightens restrictions on free speech, demanding that criticism must not “undermine the morality of society or violate public order,” a provision that could stifle dissent. Meanwhile, rare protests are already facing stricter oversight, with independent voices silenced—journalists fined for polling dissent, critics detained, and even athletes and workers mobilized to turn out voters in key sectors like mining and oil. One voter in the capital, 60-year-old logistics professional Ashirbek Berdibekov, defended the reforms, declaring, *”A Kazakh citizen must support Kazakh policies.”* Yet another, 90-year-old retiree Nazarbay Bliyev, expressed skepticism, his voice tinged with worry: *”The speed of these changes is unsettling.”*

As Kazakhstan navigates this constitutional overhaul, the world watches closely. While Tokayev presents himself as a reformer, the reality is that the amendments may just be the first step in a broader push to centralize power—a strategy that could leave democratic institutions even more tightly controlled than before. International observers, accustomed to predictable outcomes in post-Soviet Central Asia, are already questioning whether this is truly a leap toward democracy or another chapter in the region’s long history of authoritarianism.