The new version of the Constitution of Kazakhstan grants the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev the right to run again in the presidential elections, after… Clarifications The country’s Constitutional Court.
Thus, the court responded to the president’s request to provide an official interpretation of some paragraphs of the country’s new constitution. It was accepted in March 2026. It entered into force on 1 July.
According to the new version of the country’s Basic Law, the president is elected for a term of seven years, and the same person cannot be elected to this position more than once.
However, the court clarified that the application of these rules does not take into account previous periods of office, election and appointment under the 1995 Constitution. Therefore, after the new edition enters into force, such election or appointment will be considered the first, Tengri News reports.
Kazakhstan’s new constitution was developed in just 22 days and adopted in a republican referendum. The new edition, as mentioned earlier, introduces wide-ranging changes to the state structure, including strengthening the power of the president.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has been President of Kazakhstan since March 2019. He became head of state after the country’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been in power since April 1990.