From today the Senate and the Mazhilis are gone. The 1995 parliament’s powers end, and a unicameral Kurultai of 145 deputies, elected only through party lists in a single national district, takes its place. Tokayev told the final joint session he would sign the decree calling the vote as soon as the constitution took effect. The election falls in August, and parties have known the window since April.
Between the old parliament’s exit and the new one’s first session there is a gap of about two months. The transitional articles let the president issue decrees with the force of law during that window, or the government pass temporary resolutions with the same force. For two months, laws can be made without a legislature in the room.
For two months, laws can be made without a legislature in the room.
The president’s standing powers are wider under the new text. He appoints the heads of all the law-enforcement bodies, the Prosecutor General, the chairs of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, the National Bank governor and the head of the security committee, with the Kurultai informed after the fact. The formula Tokayev offered is “strong president, influential Kurultai, accountable government.” The first noun carries the most weight.
On paper the Kurultai keeps real levers. It consents to senior appointments, it can withhold confidence in the government, and in September the government will relinquish its powers before the newly elected chamber. Whether those levers bind depends on who wins the seats and how independent the winners are. Independent candidates cannot stand: only parties can.
Two tests sit ahead. The August vote, which decides how much competition the party-list system allows. And the first months of the Kurultai’s work, which show whether an influential parliament can check a government the president assembles. Today starts the clock. The answers come with the vote and the chamber that follows.