Mazhilis

After the 1995 Kazakh constitutional referendum was held on 30 August 1995 where Kazakhstani voters overwhelmingly approved a new draft of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, a bicameral Parliament was established that included the lower house Mazhilis.[3]

In the 1995 elections, under the new parliamentary structure, all seats in both houses of parliament were contested in December 1995; runoff elections filled twenty-three seats in the Mazhilis for which the initial vote was inconclusive. International observers reported procedural violations in the Mazhilis voting. The new parliament, which was seated on 30 January 1996, included 68 Kazakh and 31 Russian members; 10 deputies members of which were women.

In the aftermath of the 2004 elections, the Otan became the first party in the Mazhilis to hold the majority of seats which became bigger after the Asar, Civic Party, and Agrarian Party merged with Otan in 2006.

After the constitutional amendments in May 2007, the seats in the Mazhilis were expanded from 77 to 107, which 98 of them were elected through party-list proportional representation that was used for the first time in the 2007 legislative elections.[4] From there, Nur Otan won all the contested seats, eliminating any opposition in the Mazhilis.[5]

In the 2012 legislative elections, minor parties which were the Ak Zhol Democratic Party and Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan entered into Mazhilis however Nur Otan maintains its dominant-party control since then.[6]

The Chair of the Mazhilis heads the lower house and is elected by the Mazhilis members. The Mazhilis Chair opens sessions, convenes regular joint sessions and chairs the regular and extraordinary joint sessions of the Parliament.[7]

The Mazhilis Chair is assisted by two Deputy Chairs who nominates them and are elected by the members of the Mazhilis. The Deputy Chairs of the Mazhilis carry out tasks made by the Chair who take on certain responsibilities if he or she isn't able to.[7]

Results of the 2016 Kazakh legislative election

• Parliament website
• Structure of Kazakhstan's government