ASTANA, Kazakhstan — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pledged Tuesday to fundamentally reshape Kazakhstan’s political system as the country’s new constitution takes effect Wednesday, introducing a vice presidency and setting the stage for snap parliamentary elections next month.
The revised constitution, approved in a national referendum in March, creates the office of vice president and requires elections in August for a newly restructured and smaller parliament.
“We intend to carry out a major overhaul of the foundation of Kazakh statehood, the foundation and load-bearing structures of the country’s independence,” Tokayev told lawmakers.
The constitutional changes mark one of the most significant political reforms since Kazakhstan gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
As Central Asia’s largest economy and a major oil producer, Kazakhstan has maintained close relations with Russia, China and Western countries while positioning itself as a key regional power.
Tokayev, whose single presidential term expires in 2029 under existing constitutional limits, did not indicate any intention to seek changes to those restrictions.
However, the creation of a vice presidency has intensified speculation about Kazakhstan’s future leadership because the officeholder will become first in line to succeed the president.
Political analyst Rustam Burnashev described the constitutional overhaul as establishing “a new mechanism for handing over power from the second president to the third.”
Tokayev assumed office in 2019 after being selected by Kazakhstan’s founding president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to succeed him following nearly three decades in power.
Although Tokayev initially preserved much of the country’s political system, relations between the two leaders deteriorated dramatically after deadly nationwide unrest in 2022 that left hundreds of people dead.
Tokayev characterized the violence as an attempted coup involving figures loyal to Nazarbayev and subsequently moved to dismantle much of his predecessor’s remaining political influence.
Since then, the president has increasingly portrayed Nazarbayev’s long rule as a period marked by widespread corruption and excessive concentration of power.
The latest political restructuring continued that effort last month when the ruling Amanat party, which had dominated Kazakh politics under various names since its establishment by Nazarbayev in 1999, merged into the newly formed Adilet party led by close allies of Tokayev.
The constitutional changes are expected to redefine Kazakhstan’s political landscape over the coming years as the government prepares for parliamentary elections and begins implementing the country’s new institutional framework.
