Zhumageldy Elyubaev, a prominent lawyer in Kazakhstan, professor of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, member of the Kazakhstan Bar Association, and president of the Kazakhstan Association of Oil and Gas Industry Lawyers, has written a draft of a new Constitution for Kazakhstan, Orda.kz reported.
On his Facebook page, Elyubaev said that writing a new, third Constitution of Kazakhstan was his personal initiative. On August 1, he noted that the draft was published in the Paragraph information system a month ago, but was removed a few days later “not without the help of officials from above,” according to Elyubaev.
On August 20, he launched a petition on Facebook because, in his words, “New Kazakhstan needs a new Constitution.”
According to sources of Orda.kz, the document caused concern of the Presidential Administration. But why? Perhaps the Presidential Administration has already prepared its own draft of a new Constitution or amendments to the current Constitution, and President Tokayev was supposed to announce it in the near future?
Here are some highlights of Elyubaev’s draft Constitution:
Country name
In the proposed Constitution, the country is officially called the Kazakh Republic or Kazakhia as the short name. This is a final break with the Soviet past and a departure from the suffix “-stan” that is common in the names of other Central Asian countries.
New presidential term of office
The current Constitution provides for a single presidential term of seven years. The new version proposes five years, with no more than two consecutive terms.
Vice President instead of Prime Minister
One of the most unexpected proposals is the abolition of the post of Prime Minister. The executive branch of power—the Cabinet of Ministers—would be headed by the President, and his deputy—the Vice President—is elected in conjunction with the head of state.
In case of the President’s resignation or death, the Vice President automatically becomes the acting head of state. If the Vice President is unable to assume office, the presidential powers pass to the Speaker of the Majilis.
Transition to a unicameral parliament
The draft Constitution proposes a radical reform of the legislative branch of power: the Senate is abolished, leaving only the Majilis.
All deputies are elected by direct vote — seven from each region of Kazakhstan, the capital, and cities of national significance.
The Majilis also receives expanded supervisory powers, including the right to initiate impeachment of the President.
The Russian language loses its special status
In the current Constitution, the Russian language has the status of the official language used equally with Kazakh in government agencies. The new draft does not mention the Russian language, saying that “the free development, use and protection of other languages is guaranteed in the Kazakh Republic.”
Political scientist Tolganai Umbetalieva believes that Elyubaev’s draft Constitution could be a serious step toward political modernization, since it demonstrates a departure from Nazarbayev’s super-presidential model toward a clearer system of checks and balances, reminiscent of the US model. “In this draft, we see a strong president and a strong parliament. The Majilis has serious powers, including launching investigations against the current and former president. This seriously increases the political weight of the parliament; this model is close to the American one,” said the political analyst.
