Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree calling a national referendum on the country's new constitution for March 15.
The referendum carries the question, "Do you adopt the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan?", the draft of which was published in the mass media on February 12, 2026, according to the decree published on the presidential website on Wednesday.
Speaking at a government meeting on Tuesday, Tokayev said that the draft of the new constitution incorporates "important progressive norms".
He emphasised that the adoption of the new constitution "will give a powerful impetus to the development of Kazakhstan and will help realise the potential of every citizen."
Tokayev said Kazakhstan is replacing the "super-presidential form of government" with a presidential republic with an influential parliament.
"A panoramic look at the political reforms of recent years makes it clear that Kazakhstan is finally abandoning the super-presidential form of government, moving toward a presidential republic with an influential parliament," he said.
Constitutional amendments
He explained that the proposed constitutional amendments continue the trajectory of political transformation set in motion in recent years, including the 2022 constitutional reform.
According to the president, the provisions of the new draft constitution affirm the coherence and logic of the political system's evolution under the principle of "a strong president, an influential parliament, and an accountable government."
Tokayev stated that, in essence, this constitutes the creation of a "new system of state governance".
"The state exists for the people, not the people for the state," he added.
He added that the proposed changes would strengthen the system of checks and balances, redistribute powers, and, most importantly, enhance the stability and effectiveness of "all political institutions".
In the draft constitution, Tokayev concluded, the principle of "not the individual for the state, but the state for the individual" has taken a more concrete form, noting that this is what they have been "consistently moving toward since 2019."
