Kazakh voters approved a new constitution in a referendum on Sunday, recreating the office of vice president following the formation of a new parliament and placing greater emphasis on social development, exit polls showed.
According to the Kazakh Central Election Commission, turnout stood at 73 percent.
Two exit polls showed that around 87 percent of voters supported the new constitution.
The current constitution was adopted in 1995 and has been amended several times since. The proposed draft would replace the existing two-chamber parliament with a single legislative body and reinstate the position of vice president, while also moving to limit the presidency to a single term in office.
"People don't rely on the things that they used to rely before. So, we can see even in the Kazakhstan society today that they are expanding the ways how they are interacting with the society. The government itself and the law itself, they do need to fit those requirements, those expectations that people have right now," said Amina Kosbayeva, chief expert at the Institute of Eurasian Integration of Kazakhstan.
The focus of the new constitution is on a deep renewal of its core content, which defines the country's fundamental values, principles, and directions for social development. Despite extensive legal changes affecting 84 percent of the text, the decisive element is the constitution's new conceptual framework.
"The government's focus is increasingly shifting towards social policy. Evidence of this is that 60 percent of the national budget is allocated to social programs, underlining that the country is a socially-oriented state," said Adilkhan Gadelshiyev, deputy head of the institution.
The new constitution places education, science, culture, and innovation at the heart of the draft. It marks a fundamental shift, emphasizing that the country's future will be shaped not by natural resources but by human capital and the achievements of its citizens.
"Domestically, there is a growing public demand for justice, increasing environmental challenges and daily concerns over digital security," said Emin Askerov, a social entrepreneur.
Kazakh voters approve new constitution in referendum: exit polls
