After closing the polling stations, the Central Electoral Commission reported that approximately 73.2 percent of voters came to the polls. entitled. According to estimates based on exit polls, the vast majority of voters supported the proposed changes to the Constitution. The final results are to be announced within seven days of the referendum.
The vote was considered valid on referendum day when the turnout exceeded the required threshold of 50%. The highest turnout was recorded in the Aktoby Oblast in the west-central part of the country, where about 87 percent turned out to vote. entitled. The lowest turnout was in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan, a city with over 2 million inhabitants. Only one third of those eligible voted there.
President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, who was the initiator of changing the constitution and holding the referendum, expressed satisfaction with its initial results.
What was the turnout in the referendum in Kazakhstan?
When will the new constitution come into force?
What changes does the new constitution provide for?
When will the final results of the referendum be announced?
— Today we witnessed a truly historic event for our country. Kazakh citizens took part in the referendum and supported constitutional reform. They cast their vote for the future of our homeland. (…) The results of the exit poll (…) allow us to confidently state that Kazakhstan has made its historic choice in favor of the new constitution. In this way, during the vote, our nation determined the further course of history and the fate of Kazakhstan. Your will will forever remain in the world's chronicles, because it has become a true symbol of the patriotism inherent in our compatriots. From now on, we will celebrate Constitution Day on March 15 every year as one of the most important holidays, said the president, quoted by the Zakon.kz website.
New constitution in Kazakhstan. What changes await citizens?
The new constitution provides for, among others: reorganization of the political system, including changing the structure of the parliament (from bicameral to unicameral) and restoring the position of vice president, abolished in the 1990s. According to the authorities, the reforms are intended to improve the functioning of the state, but some analysts indicate that they may also strengthen the powers of the president.
The vote took place in a tense political atmosphere. As Radio Swoboda reported, on the day of the referendum, journalists covering the events in various parts of the country were detained, mainly from opposition media.
Kazakhstan is the second largest territorially country created after the collapse of the Soviet Union after Russia. Its area is over 2.7 million square kilometers. At the same time, it is a sparsely populated country – it is inhabited by approximately 20.5 million people, a quarter of whom live in the three largest cities: Almaty, the capital Astana and Shymkent. Kazakhstan has the largest economy among the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia.
