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Washington's new tariff law counts Russian gas by volume, and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are closing in on its top fiveThe WMO writes the region's water year down: reservoirs below normal from Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan, the Aral basin's rivers in decline, glaciers with one of their 3 worst years on recordKyrgyzstan widens its fuel export ban to petroleum gases; the Chinese-owned Junda refinery gets a 4,800-tonne exceptionOyu Tolgoi's revenue runs $1.9 billion ahead of plan in 8 months; the copper dividend is still dated 2027
Politics

Tokayev reappoints the heads of the Constitutional Court, the election commission and the audit chamber, and tells 8 new ambassadors Kazakhstan has to hold together

President Tokayev signed decrees on Friday appointing Elvira Azimova chairwoman of the Constitutional Court, Nurlan Abdirov chairman of the Central Election Commission and Alikhan Smailov chairman of the Higher Audit Chamber, the posts all 3 already held, Akorda's releases carried by Tengrinews and Zakon.kz show. In the afternoon he received the credentials of 8 ambassadors at the Palace of Independence and told them the doors of the state would stay open to them "because we need to hold together in this very restless and turbulent world".

By CAW Staff18 September 2026
Tokayev reappoints the heads of the Constitutional Court, the election commission and the audit chamber, and tells 8 new ambassadors Kazakhstan has to hold together

None of the 3 reports gives a reason, and each names the post its holder occupied on Thursday. Azimova has chaired the Constitutional Court since 1 January 2023; before that she was the human rights ombudsperson from September 2019 and a vice-minister of justice from 2013. Abdirov, a legal scholar and former deputy chairman of the Senate, has chaired the election commission since 25 January 2022. Smailov was prime minister from January 2022 to February 2024 and has headed the audit chamber since 1 April 2024.

The decrees land in the second republic's first month of business. The vice-presidency got its powers by decree on 5 September, the Kurultai adopted its rules of procedure on 10 September, and Kapital.kz reported on Wednesday that a 50-member public chamber is to be created under the parliament. Friday's decrees confirm the chairs of the bodies that rule on the constitution, run the elections and audit the budget.

Eight in one afternoon. The ambassadors were from Egypt, Switzerland, Estonia, Oman, Hungary, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and Denmark. "We conduct a balanced and constructive foreign policy. We strive to create favourable conditions for carrying out reforms in the country," Tokayev told them, and called Kazakhstan a peace-loving state.

None of the 3 reports gives a reason, and each names the post its holder occupied on Thursday.

The tenge closed at 446.56 to the dollar on KASE on Friday, 1.65 weaker on the day, Informburo reports, against the 480 written into the 2027 draft budget and the 540 in this year's law.

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