Will Tokayev Get Another Term? Court Says New Constitution Allows Him to Run
Photo: Akorda
Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court has clarified that officials who held office under the 1995 Constitution may be elected or appointed again under the new Constitution, Orda.kz reports.
The court issued the statement after considering President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s request for an official interpretation of several provisions of the Constitution adopted on March 15, 2026.
The request concerned whether people who held certain positions under the 1995 Constitution can be elected or appointed to the same positions under the new Constitution.
The Constitutional Court said the restrictions in the new Constitution apply only to elections or appointments made under the current Constitution and laws adopted in accordance with it.
The court also noted that the new Constitution does not count terms of office, elections or appointments that took place while the 1995 Constitution was in force.
This means that holding one of these offices under the 1995 Constitution is not a constitutional or legal obstacle to being elected or appointed to the same office after the 2026 Constitution enters into force.
In practice, this applies to the presidency as well. If a person served as president under the 1995 Constitution, that term is not counted under the new constitutional limits. The count starts from July 1, 2026, when the new Constitution entered into force.
Following the review, the Constitutional Court gave an official interpretation: people who held the positions named in the relevant constitutional provisions under the 1995 Constitution may be elected or appointed to those positions after the 2026 Constitution takes effect.
For the purposes of the new restrictions, their election or appointment after July 1, 2026, will be considered their first.
Original author: Ilya Astakhov
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