Government of Kazakhstan

The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Kazakh: Қазақстан Республикасының Үкіметі, Qazaqstan Respwblıkasynyŋ Ükimeti) oversees a presidential republic. The President of Kazakhstan, currently Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is head of state and nominates the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament.

Kazakhstan
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Kazakhstan

CIS Member State

According to the 2016 World Development report prepared by the World Bank Group, Kazakhstan ranks 28th among 193 countries in the e-Gov development rating. The “Information Kazakhstan – 2020” state program approved in 2013 helped the country transition to the information society.[1]

Executive branch
Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Nur Otan 20 March 2019
Prime Minister Askar Mamin Nur Otan 21 February 2019

President

The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term.[2] The prime minister and first deputy prime are appointed by the president. Council of Ministers is also appointed by the president. President Nazarbayev expanded his presidential powers by decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referendums at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities.

The president is the head of state. He also is the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. The president Nursultan Nazarbayev has been the head of state since Kazakhstan became independent. The prime minister, who serves at the pleasure of the president, chairs the Council of Ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government. There are three deputy prime ministers and 17 ministers in the Council. Daniyal K. Akhmetov became the Prime Minister in June 2003. He was succeeded by Karim Massimov who assumed office in January 2007.

In the 2005 Presidential elections Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected for a seven-year term. 5 candidates participated in the elections. 91.15% of voters supported Nazarbayev. The participation in the election made up 77%. A presidential election was held on April 26, 2015.

After nearly 30 years of leadership, Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down from office on 19 March 2019. Prime Minister Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stepped in as interim President until elections could be held to elect a new President of Kazakhstan.[3] Elections were held on 9 June 2019 with five candidates running; Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won the election with 70.76% of the vote, entering a five-year term as President.[3]

Agencies and committees

Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (NSC) was established on 13 June 1992. It includes the Service of Internal Security, Military Counterintelligence, Border Guard, several Commandos units, and Foreign Intelligence (Barlau). The latter is considered by many as the most important part of NSC. Its director is Major General Adil Shayahmetov.

Legislative branch

The legislature, known as the Parliament (Parlamenti), has two chambers. The Assembly (Mazhilis) has 77 seats, elected for a four-year term, 67 in single seat constituencies and 10 by proportional representation. The Senate (Senaty) has 47 members, 40 of whom are elected for six-year terms in double-seat constituencies by the local assemblies, half renewed every two years, and 7 presidential appointees. In addition, ex-presidents are ex-officio senators for life. Majilis deputies and the government both have the right of legislative initiative, though most legislation considered by the Parliament is proposed by the government.

Judicial branch

There are 44 judges on the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan. There are seven members of the Constitutional Council. With regard to the legal profession, the Republican Collegiate was created in 2012 and it represents Kazakhstan's lawyers' associations on the national level.[4]

Administrative divisions

Kazakhstan is divided into 14 regions and the three municipal districts of Almaty, Nur-Sultan, and Shymkent. Each is headed by an Akim (provincial governor) appointed by the president. Municipal Akims are appointed by Province Akims. The Government of Kazakhstan transferred its capital from Almaty to Astana on 10 June 1998 The Province or oblystar (singular — oblys) and cities (kalalar, singular — kala)* are : Almaty (Taldykorgan), Almaty*, Akmola (Kokshetau), Nur-Sultan*, Aktobe (Aktobe), Atyrau (Atyrau), West Kazakhstan (Oral), Baykonur*, Mangystau (Aktau), South Kazakhstan (Shymkent), Pavlodar (Pavlodar), Karagandy (Karaganda), Kostanay (Kostanay), Kyzylorda (Kyzylorda), East Kazakhstan (Oskemen), North Kazakhstan (Petropavl), Zhambyl (Taraz). The administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 km2 (2,317 sq mi) enclosing the Baikonur space launch facilities and the city of Baikonur.

References
  1. "Expect no lines in front of the digital counters". blogs.worldbank.org.
  2. Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan Archived 2010-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/09/hundreds-arrested-as-kazakhs-protest-against-rigged-election
  4. "Independence of the Legal Profession in Central Asia" (PDF). International Commission of Jurists.
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