Kazakh Parliament adopts amendments to constitutional law ‘On National Referendum’

Kazakh Parliament adopts amendments to constitutional law ‘On National Referendum’

Members of the Mazhilis accepted the amendments of the Senate to the bill on the national referendum. Now the document is considered adopted by the country’s parliament. This morning the senators reported out the bill to the lower house with a proposal to remove the rule of the previous version of the bill, which prescribes that issues related to the status of the First President could not be the subject of the national referendum.

“The third article excludes exactly the fact that the issue concerning the status of the first president cannot be included in a referendum. The rest of the listed grounds remain in the referendum law,” said Lyazzat Suleimen, member of the Senate, the Upper House of Kazakh Parliament.

Member of the Kazakh Central Election Commission Shavkat Utemissov spoke about the holding of the future referendum and voting for Kazakh citizens. The procedure will be held in the traditional format. People need to visit the corresponding polling station and fill out the ballot in writing.

“The amendment will be adopted if more than 50 percent of those who took part in the referendum vote for this. Work is already underway and representatives of other countries are also willing to take part. There will be both domestic and international observers at the referendum. Each international observer has the right to choose the site where he or she will monitor the activity on that day,” Shavkat Utemissov, member of Kazakh Central Election Commission.

 

 

Translation by Saniya Sakenova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova