The referendum.What do you need to know about amendments to the Constitution?

Today, a press conference was held at the Central Communications Service under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the participation of Vice-Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alma Mukanova.

At a briefing, the Vice Minister informed about the amendments to the Constitution being implemented.

“The draft amendments in accordance with Article 91 of the Constitution were considered by the Constitutional Council, which gave a positive conclusion. Now, in accordance with article 91 of the Constitution, there are 2 ways to adopt amendments to the Constitution: through a republican referendum, that is, through universal suffrage, or through Parliament. The President chose the first option – a referendum, because this way testifies to the development of democratic institutions,” Alma Kairatovna said.

It should be noted that the President issued a decree on holding a republican referendum on June 5. Adult citizens of the country can take part in the referendum. Now the CEC is forming a list of persons entitled to participate in the referendum.

“1 question will be put to the referendum – the adoption of amendments to the Constitution. If the majority of the population in 11 cities votes in FAVOR, the amendments will be considered accepted. If this indicator is not reached, the amendments will be considered rejected. Why I’m talking about 11 cities, I’ll explain. According to the law “On the Republican Referendum”, a question is considered approved if the majority of the population in 2/3 of the regions (cities of republican significance, the capital, regions) voted for it. Considering that there are now 17 regions in Kazakhstan (the Decree on the creation of 3 regions – Abai, Ulytau, Zhetysu will be put into effect from June 8 this year), then 2/3 of these 17 regions are 11 regions. In this regard, the adoption of amendments to the Constitution will depend entirely on the will of the people.

According to the Vice Minister of Justice, the amendments provide for 12 blocks of amendments. The first is about restrictions related to the office of the President. 1) This is, first of all, a restriction for close relatives of the President to hold political positions and leadership positions in the quasi-public sector. 2) Also, it is a restriction for the President to be a member of a political party for the period of exercising his powers. 3)Further, the right of the President to cancel and suspend acts of akims of regions, to release akims of districts, cities of regional and district significance, rural districts is excluded.

There is also another amendment regarding the exclusion of all norms related to the status of the First President. Thus, 3 norms are excluded related to 1) the possibility of being elected to the First President more than 2 times, 2) regulation of his activities by a separate constitutional law; 3) the immutability of the fundamental principles of the state laid down by the First President and his status.

Another block concerns the proclamation of the earth, its subsoil, waters, flora and fauna, and other natural resources as the property of the people. An important change is the restrictions associated with the tenure of certain persons. Thus, it is proposed to prohibit membership in a political party, trade unions, and support of any party for the Chairmen and judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and other courts, the Chairman and members of the Central Election Commission, the Supreme Audit Chamber.

“Another important issue concerns the abolition of the death penalty. Kazakhstan has had a moratorium on the death penalty since 2003,” Alma Mukanova noted.

Another important point in the Constitution is the possibility of creating a Supreme Audit Chamber, which will report to the Majilis twice a year on the execution of the republican budget. It is also planned to strengthen human rights institutions.

According to the Vice Minister, there are a number of amendments that require clarification. The first is the creation of the Constitutional Court, the second is the change in the model of the formation of the Parliament and the electoral system as a whole. The third is a change in the parameters of the adoption of the law. The fourth is the possibility of using forced labor according to court decisions on an administrative offense. It is also planned to change the order of appointment of akims of regions, cities of republican significance and the capital.

source; https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/adilet/press/news/details/370030 ?lang=ru