Fergana Agency: Kazakhstan is preparing for parliamentary reform

Kazakh president Kasym-Żomart Tokayev announced the start of work on parliamentary reform, which will require broad changes to the country's constitution. The plan involves transforming the current bi-cameral parliament into a single-cameral and introducing modern digital tools specified as the e-Parliament system.

The implementation of the parliamentary improvement proposed by Kazakh president Kasyma-Żomart Tokayev will require a thorough revision of the country's constitution. The Head of State himself announced this at the first gathering of the Working Group on Parliamentary Reform.

‘The amendments will cover about 40 articles of the Basic Law. It will then be essential to harmonise at least 10 constitutional laws and more than 50 codes and laws. This process is in rule comparable to the adoption of the fresh constitution. Obviously, you can't do all this work once. Careful preparation is required" said Tokaev.

In his yearly message to the nation, delivered last month, Tokayev proposed the creation of a single-cameral parliament in place of the current two-cameral, consisting of Mażilis (a lower chamber) and the legislature (a higher chamber whose abolition is proposed). According to the President, this issue will should be submitted to a referendum that could take place in 2027.

The president stressed that bringing parliamentary improvement only to the liquidation of the legislature was totally unjustified. "We have a clear goal – to carry out a deep transformation of the full typical power" He said.

Tokayev besides noted that the improvement fits into wider changes in the country, including the process of digitising public administration. According to him, the transition to a single-cameral parliament aims, among another things, at adapting to the fresh content and rhythm of work and the accelerated pace of decision-making, and the emphasis will be on enabling citizens to participate in political life through an "electronic parliament" (e-Parliament) – a strategy akin to the already functioning "electronic government" (e-Gov).

According to Tokayev, the planned improvement is part of the extended political modernisation implemented by the Kazakh authorities. ‘ Thanks to the constitutional improvement of 2022, we have greatly expanded the powers of Mażelis. It is now Mażelis who passed the laws, and the legislature approves them. Those were the first steps. Now, given the growth of the political culture of society in fresh years, we are consistently and prudently starting a transformation towards a single-seizbic parliament" – concluded the President.

A working group on parliamentary improvement was set up in Kazakhstan on 8 October. It was headed by state councillor Jerlan Karin, and its deputy advisors were president Jerjan Zynbayev and Arman Kyrykbayev. The group consists of 30 people – well-known lawyers, parliamentarians, political scientists and representatives of public life.

Source: Fergana Agency

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