Constitution:
first post-independence constitution adopted 28 January 1993; new
constitution adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995
Legal system:
based on civil law system
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the
Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December
1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Daniyal AKHMETOV (since 13 June
2003); Deputy Prime Minister Karim MASIMOV (since 19 January 2006)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term
(no term limits); election last held 4 December 2005 (next to be
held in 2012); prime minister and first deputy prime minister
appointed by the president
election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president;
percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 91.1%, Zharmakhan A.
TUYAKBAI 6.6%, Alikhan M. BAIMENOV 1.6%
note: President NAZARBAYEV arranged a referendum in 1995 that
extended his term of office and expanded his presidential powers:
only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss
the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his
discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (39 seats; 7 senators
are appointed by the president; other members are elected by local
government bodies, 2 from each of the 14 oblasts, the capital of
Astana, and the city of Almaty, to serve six-year terms; note -
formerly composed of 47 seats) and the Mazhilis (77 seats; 10 out of
the 77 Mazhilis members are elected from the winning party's lists;
members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - (indirect) last held December 2005; next to be
held in 2011; Mazhilis - last held 19 September and 3 October 2004
(next to be held in September 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - NA; candidates nominated by local councils; Mazhilis -
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Otan 42, AIST 11,
ASAR (All Together) 4, Aq Zhol (Bright Path) 1, Democratic Party 1
(party refused to take the seat due to criticism of the election and
seat remained unoccupied), independent 18; note - most independent
candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other
pro-government institutions
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members)
Political parties and leaders:
Adilet (Justice) [Maksut NARIKBAYEV, co-chair, Zeynulla
ALSHIMBAYEV, co-chair, Bakhytbek AKHMETZHAN, co-chair, Yerkin
ONGARBAYEV, co-chair, Tolegan SYDYKOV, co-chair] (formerly
Democratic Party of Kazakhstan); Aq Zhol Party (Bright Path)
[Alikhan BAIMENOV, chairman]; AUL (Village) [Gani KALIYEV,
chairman]; Communist Party of Kazakhstan or KPK [Serikbolsyn
ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan
[Vladislav KOSAREV, first secretary]; Otan [Bakhytzhan ZHUMAGULOV,
acting chairman] (the Agrarian, Asar, and Civic parties merged with
Otan); Patriots' Party [Gani KASYMOV, chairman]; Rukhaniyat
(Spirituality) [Altynshash ZHAGANOVA, chairwoman]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Almaty Helsinki Group [Ninel FOKINA];
Confederation of Free Trade Unions [Sergei BELKIN]; For a Just
Kazakhstan [Bolat ABILOV, Altynbek SARSENBAYEV]; For Fair Elections
[Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, Sabit ZHUSUPOV, Sergey DUVANOV, Ibrash
NUSUPBAYEV]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights
[Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director]; Pensioners Movement or
Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; Republican Network of
International Monitors [Dos KUSHIM]; Transparency International
[Sergei ZLOTNIKOV]
International organization participation:
AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU,
MIGA, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP,
SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kanat B. SAUDABAYEV
chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488
FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845
consulate(s): New York