Fate of constitutional reforms should be decided in a referendum - President

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes that a constitutional referendum will let each citizen of Kazakhstan take part in determining the fate of the country, Kazinform reports.

While speaking at the session of the People’s Assembly of Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan on Friday, President Tokayev stressed he had initiated fundamental amendments to the Constitution which at the end of the day will dramatically change the political system of the country.

Kazakhstan, in his words, switches to a brand new state model, a new format of interaction between the state and the society. The President is confident that this brand-new format can be rightly called the Second Republic.

A working group have prepared amendments to 33 Articles of the Constitution, that means that one third of the Constitution will be amended. The Constitutional Council will deliver its verdict regarding the proposed amendments in the nearest future.

Moreover, at the session of the People’s Assembly, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the fate of the amendments to the Constitution should be decided by the people of Kazakhstan in a referendum.

According to the Head of State, the constitutional referendum will let each citizen of Kazakhstan take part in determining the fate of the country and let us embark on the path towards comprehensive democratization and building New Kazakhstan.

Last time Kazakhstan held the constitutional referendum back in 1995 to approve the current Constitution. Afterwards, the Constitution was amended four times without referendums.