The Constitution of Kazakhstan

"The constitutional reform marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Kazakhstan.

From now on, the principles of justice, transparency and solidarity will be strictly observed."

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

на русском. қазақша. in English.

Section III. The President

Article 40

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be the head of the state, holder of the highest office determining the main guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy of the state and representing Kazakhstan within the country and in international relations.

2. The President of the Republic shall be a symbol and guarantor of the unity of the people and state power, the inviolability of the Constitution, the rights and freedoms of person and citizen.

3. The President of the Republic ensures the coordinated functioning of all branches of government and the responsibility of the authorities to the people.

Article 41

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be elected in accordance with the constitutional law by adult citizens of the Republic on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot for a term of five years.

2. A citizen of the Republic by birth who is at least forty years old, fluent in the state language, has lived in Kazakhstan for the last fifteen years and has a higher education, may be elected President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The constitutional law may establish additional requirements for candidates for the President of the Republic.

3. Regular elections of the President of the Republic shall be held on the first Sunday of December and shall not coincide with the election of a new Parliament of the Republic.

3-1. Extraordinary presidential elections shall be assigned by the decision of the President of the Republic and shall be held in accordance with the procedure and terms established by the Constitutional Law.

4. Excluded by Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 284 dated October 7, 1998

5. A candidate who receives more than fifty percent of the votes cast by voters who have taken part in the voting shall be considered elected. In the event that none of the candidates receives the specified number of votes, a second vote shall be taken, in which two candidates who receive the largest number of votes participate. A candidate is considered to be elected if he receives a greater number of votes of the voters who took part in the voting.

Article 42

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall take office from the moment of swearing to the people the following oath: "I solemnly swear that I will faithfully serve the people of Kazakhstan, strictly observe the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens and honestly perform the high duties of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan entrusted to me."

2. The oath shall be taken on the second Wednesday of January in a ceremonial atmosphere in the presence of the deputies of Parliament, the members of the Constitutional Council, the judges of the Supreme Court, as well as all former Presidents of the Republic. In the case, stipulated by article 48 of the Constitution, the person who assumes the powers of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall take the oath within one month from the day of assumption of the powers of the President of the Republic.

3. The powers of the President of the Republic shall terminate from the moment the newly -elected President of the Republic takes office as well as in the case of early discharge from office, resignation or death. All former Presidents of the Republic, except those who were discharged from office, shall have the title of ex-President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

4. Excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 284 dated October 7, 1998.

5. The same person may not be elected to the office of the President of the Republic more than two times in a row.

This restriction shall not apply to the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Article 43

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall not have the right to be a deputy of a representative body, occupy other paid positions nor engage in entrepreneurial activity.

2. Excluded by Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 254 dated May 21, 2007.

Article 44

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall:

1) annually address the people of Kazakhstan with a message on the state of the country and the main guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

2) appoint regular and special elections to the Parliament of the Republic and its Chambers; convene the first session of Parliament and take the oath of its deputies to the people of Kazakhstan; convene an extraordinary session of Parliament; sign the law submitted by the Senate of Parliament within one month, promulgate the law or returns the law or some of its articles for further discussion and voting;

3) after consultations with factions of political parties represented in the Mazhilis of the Parliament, submit the candidacy of the Prime Minister of the Republic to the Mazhilis for approval; with the consent of the Mazhilis of the Parliament appoint the position of the Prime Minister of the Republic; dismiss the Prime Minister of the Republic; determine the structure of the Government upon the proposal of the Prime Minister; appoint members of the Government to office upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister, made after consultation with the Mazhilis of the Parliament; independently appoint ministers of foreign affairs, defense, internal affairs; dismiss members of the Government; take the oath of Government members; if necessary, preside at Governmental meetings on particularly important issues; repeal or suspend, in whole or in part, the acts of akims of regions, cities of republican significance and the capital;

4) appoint the Chairperson of the National Bank, the Prosecutor General and the Chairperson of the Committee of National Security of the Republic with the consent of the Senate of Parliament with the Parliament's consent; discharge them from office;

5) create, abolish and reorganize national bodies that are directly subordinate and accountable to the President of the Republic,

6) appoint and recall the heads of diplomatic representative offices of the Republic;

7) appoint the Chairperson and two members of the Central Election Commission, the Chairperson and two members of the Accounts Committee for Control over Implementation of the Republican Budget for a five-year term;

8) Excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 51-VI dated March 10, 2017 (shall be applied from the date of its first official publication).

9) Excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 51-VI dated March 10, 2017 (shall be applied from the date of its first official publication).

10) adopt a resolution on the conduct of the national referendum;

10-1) send an appeal to the Constitutional Council on consideration of an enacted law or other legal act on compliance with the Constitution of the Republic in the interests of protecting the rights and freedoms of person and citizen, ensuring national security, sovereignty and integrity of the state, on giving an opinion in the case provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 91 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

11) conduct negotiations and sign international agreements of the Republic; sign ratification instruments; letters of credentials and recall from diplomatic and other representatives of foreign states accredited to him;

12) act as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic, appoint and discharge the highest command of the Armed Forces from office;

13) award state decorations of the Republic; confer honorary, highest military and other ranks, ranked positions, diplomatic ranks and qualification degrees;

14) resolve issues of citizenship of the Republic, and granting of political asylum;

15) exercise the pardon of citizens;

16) take measures dictated by the above circumstances including the imposition of a state of emergency on the entire territory and in particular areas of Kazakhstan, and immediately inform the Parliament of the use of the Armed Forces of the Republic in case of a serious and immediate threat to the democratic institutions of the Republic, its independence and territorial integrity, political stability of the Republic, security of its citizens and the disruption of normal functioning of the Constitutional bodies of the state, after official consultations with the Prime Minister and Chairpersons of the Parliamentary Chambers of the Republic;

17) the President shall impose martial law on the entire territory of the Republic or in particular areas, declare a partial or total mobilization and immediately inform the Parliament of the Republic in case of aggression against the Republic or immediate external threat to its security;

18) form the State Security Service subordinate to him;

19) appoint to and discharge the State Secretary of the Republic of Kazakhstan from office, determine his status and powers; form the Administration of the President of the Republic;

20) form the Security Council and other consultative and advisory bodies as well as the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan and the Supreme Judicial Council;

21) exercise other powers in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic.

Article 45

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the basis of and for the exercise of the Constitution and the laws, shall issue decrees and resolutions which are binding on the entire territory of the Republic.

2. Excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 51-VI dated March 10, 2017 (shall be applied from the date of its first official publication).

3. Acts of Parliament, signed by the President of the Republic, as well as acts of the President, issued on the initiative of the Government, shall be preliminarily affixed accordingly by the signature of the Chairperson of each Chamber of Parliament or the Prime Minister, who are legally responsible for the legality of these acts.

Article 46

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, his honor and dignity shall be inviolable.

2. Provision, service, and guard of the President of the Republic and his family shall be carried out at the state's expense.

3. The provisions of this article shall apply to ex-Presidents of the Republic.

4. The status and powers of the First President of Kazakhstan shall be determined by the Constitution of the Republic and Constitutional Law.

Article 47

1. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan may be prematurely discharged from office in the case of continued incapacity to carry out his duties due to illness. In this case, the Parliament shall form a commission consisting of equal numbers of deputies from each Chamber and specialists in the corresponding areas of medicine. The decision on early discharge shall be adopted at a joint sitting of the Parliament's Chambers by the majority of not less than three quarters of the total number of deputies of each Chamber on the grounds of opinion of the commission and the Constitutional Council on compliance with the established constitutional procedures.

2. The President of the Republic shall bear responsibility for the actions performed while carrying out his duties and only in the case of high treason may be discharged from office by Parliament. The decision to bring an accusation and conduct its investigation may be adopted by the majority of the deputies of the Mazhilis at the initiative of no less, than one-third of the total number of its deputies. Investigation of the accusation shall be organized by the Senate and its results shall be transferred for consideration by the majority of votes of the total number of the deputies of the Senate at a joint session of the Parliament's Chambers. The final decision on this issue shall be adopted at a joint sitting of the Chambers of Parliament by a majority of not less than three-quarters of the total number of the deputies of each Chamber provided that the Supreme Court concludes that on the validity of the accusation and conclusion of the Constitutional Council on compliance with the established constitutional procedures. The failure to make a final decision within two months from the moment of the accusation shall result in recognition of the rejection of the allegation against the President of the Republic. The rejection of the accusation against the President of the Republic in the commission of high treason at any stage shall result in early termination of the powers of the deputies of the Mazhilis, who initiated the consideration of this issue.

3. The issue of discharge of the President of the Republic from office may not be commenced within the period of consideration by him of the issue of early termination of the powers of Parliament of the Republic or the Mazhilis of Parliament.

Article 48

1. In case of early discharge or impeachment of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan from office as well as in the case of his death, the powers of the President of the Republic shall be transmitted for the remaining period to the Chairperson of the Senate of Parliament; if the Chairperson of the Senate is unable to assume the powers of the President, they shall pass to the Chairperson of the Mazhilis of Parliament; if the Chairperson of the Mazhilis is unable to assume the powers of the President, they shall pass to the Prime Minister of the Republic. A person who has assumed the powers of the President of the Republic, shall resign himself from the powers of the Chairperson of the Senate, the Chairperson of the Mazhilis and the Prime Minister. In this case, the filling of vacant public positions shall be carried out in the manner prescribed by the Constitution.

2. A person who has assumed the authority of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the grounds and in the manner provided by paragraph 1 of this article, shall not have the right to initiate changes and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan.