First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev at a polling station. File photoALMA-ATA, Jun 5 Kazakhstan's first president Nursultan Nazarbayev and incumbent head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev voted in a referendum on constitutional amendments. Nazarbayev's press secretary, Aidos Ukibay, posted a photo of the former president on Twitter near the ballot box. «Nursultan Nazarbayev voted at the nationwide referendum on the issue of amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan,» he wrote. Tokayev made his choice in Nur-Sultan, at polling station No. 59, located in the new Schoolchildren's Palace. The referendum is intended to secure Kazakhstan's final transition from a super-presidential form of government to a presidential one as part of Tokayev's proposed political reform plan. In particular, it is planned to reduce the president's participation in the formation of the upper house of parliament, limit his influence on local representative and executive bodies, and establish a ban on his membership in political parties during the presidency. In addition, references to the status, powers and privileges of the first president are excluded from the constitution. In a recent interview, Nazarbayev noted that he had always supported Tokayev's actions to reform the country, and assured that he would support this time too. Voting began at 7:00 local time and will last until 20:00 (from 4:00 to 17:00 Moscow ). The referendum will be considered valid if more than half of the voters take part in it. For the amendments to be adopted, they must be supported by more than 50 percent of those who voted in at least two-thirds of the regions, cities of republican significance and the capital. this is just the beginning of a big job, Tokayev said
