A poster at the republican referendum on amendments and additions to the constitution of Kazakhstan at a polling station in Nur-SultanALMA-ATA , Jun 5 In Kazakhstan, the voting of citizens in a referendum on amendments and additions to the constitution of the country has ended. Voting in the main part of the republic ended at 20:00 Nur-Sultan (17:00 Moscow time), while in five regions, namely Atyrau, Aktobe, Kyzylorda and Mangistau regions, it ended an hour later due to the time difference.The head of Kazakhstan does not plan to extend his term of office. According to preliminary data from the CEC, the turnout in the country's referendum was 68.44 percent. It, according to local law, is considered valid if more than half of the citizens eligible to participate in the plebiscite took part in the vote. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed amending the basic law after the January coup attempt. The referendum is intended to secure the country's final transition from a super-presidential form of government to a presidential one.Kazakhstan is committed to the course of Eurasian integration, Tokayev said. Thus, it is planned to reduce the participation of the head of state 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. Close relatives of the president will be banned from holding leadership positions in state and quasi-state structures. Some amendments also relate to the rights and freedoms of citizens: they provide for the creation of a constitutional court, the consolidation of the status of an ombudsman and an unconditional ban on the death penalty.
The referendum is only the beginning of a lot of work, Tokayev said. In addition, references to the status, powers and privileges of the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, will be excluded from the constitution. in less than two-thirds of regions, cities of republican significance and the capital.
