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{{Politics of Kazakhstan}}
The '''2007 amendment to the Constitution of Kazakhstan''' modified [[Constitution of Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan's basic law]], on May 18, 2007.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/18/asia/AS-POL-Kazakhstan-President.php Kazakh parliament approves amendment to waive presidential term limits], International Herald Tribune, May 18, 2007.</ref> The changes followed the conclusion of the activities of the 'State Commission on Democratization' formed two years previously.

In a speech on May 16 to the [[Joint session|Joint Session]] of the Chambers of [[Parliament of Kazakhstan|Parliament]], President [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] summarized the development of [[Kazakhstan]] since independence in 1991, and outlined his proposed constitutional changes.<ref>[http://www.regnum.ru/english/kazakhstan/828053.html Kazakh president proposes to reduce presidential term from 7 to 5 years], REGNUM, May 16, 2007.</ref>

The main changes proposed by the President were as follows:
*The reduction of the presidential term from 7-years to 5-years, coming into effect after the next election in 2012
*To adopt [[proportional representation]] for the [[Majilis]], or lower Chamber of deputies
*To increase the number of [[Senate of Kazakhstan|senators]] selected by the [[President]], from 7 to 15
*To give to the Senate the power of consultation on the appointment of a President of the National Bank
*To increase the number of Majilis deputies to 107 - 98 deputies elected by proportional representation and 9 deputies representing the Assembly of the Peoples' of Kazakhstan. The total number of the parliamentary deputies will therefore increase by 38 and will amount to 154
*To strengthen the powers of political parties by depriving members of the Majilis of their mandate in the event that they are expelled from their party
*To make the government accountable not only to the Head of State, but to the whole Parliament; by giving the Government a vote of no-confidence. It will be sufficient for the Majilis to have a simple majority of deputies' votes compared with the previously required two thirds of votes, in order to dismiss the government
*To change, the procedure for forming the [[Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan|Constitutional Council]] and the [[Central Election Commission]]. This will occur via the introduction of a law whereby two thirds of the Constitutional Council, the Central Election Commission and Auditing Committee will be formed by Parliament
*To change the procedure of forming the Government, where the [[Prime Minister of Kazakhstan|Prime Minister]] is appointed by the President, so that the approval of such appointments, and consequently that of the entire Government, is delegated to the Majilis
*To introduce a change whereby the composition of the Government shall be formed according to the proposals of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will also represent the parliamentary majority party
*To abolish the constitutional prohibition of state funding of [[NGO]]'s
*To develop a procedure for the partial funding of political parties from the state budget
*To abolish the [[death penalty]] in Kazakhstan<ref>[http://www.kogiguk.com/News/Archive/2007/May/Article3555.htm KAZAKHSTAN MOVES FORWARD ON MAJOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM], Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Interest Group.</ref>

In addition to these proposals the Kazakh parliament passed an additional amendment two days later, lifting the term-limit clause on the first [[President of Kazakhstan]], [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]]. The constitution limits a president to two five-year terms, but this amendment allows the incumbent president--Nazarbayev--to run for an unlimited number of five year terms. Some critics argued this move paved the way for him to become ''[[de facto]]'' [[President for life]].<ref>[http://www.kub.kz/print.php?sid=17539 Nursultan A. Nazarbayev could remain in office for the rest of his life], Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2007.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Government of Kazakhstan]]
*[[Constitution of Kazakhstan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Constitutional amendments|Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani law]]
[[Category:Government of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:2007 in Kazakhstan|Constitution of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:2007 in law|Amendment to the Constitution of Kazakhstan]]

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2007 amendment to the Constitution of Kazakhstan - Revision history

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R'n'B: Disambiguating links to Constitutional Council (link changed to Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan) using DisamAssist.