Temur Umarov

Analyst tracking Central Asian governance

Kazakhstan's 1995 constitution survived three decades. On March 15, 2026, voters approved a replacement that merges the country's two parliamentary chambers into a single body, grants the president authority to appoint all government officials, and creates a new presidential advisory council with the power to initiate legislation. The vote exceeded the 50 percent turnout threshold needed for validation, though Almaty—the country's largest city and a center of past protest movements—recorded just 32 percent participation.

Updated 6 hours ago