The final results of the nationwide referendum held on March 15 on the draft of the new Constitution in Kazakhstan have been announced.
According to the information announced at a briefing held by the Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan, 87.15% of citizens who participated in the referendum supported the draft of the new Constitution. In total, 7,954,667 people voted in favor of adopting the new version of the fundamental law.
At the same time, 9.83% of voters, or 898,099 people, voted against the proposed document.
In addition, more than 146,000 ballots were declared invalid.
According to the commission, voter turnout in the referendum amounted to 73.1%. Under Kazakhstan’s legislation, at least half of registered voters must participate in order for the referendum to be considered valid.
“The holding of a national referendum on Kazakhstan’s new Constitution can be seen as an important step in the development of the country’s constitutional system. Submitting key amendments to a nationwide vote strengthens the democratic legitimacy of the reforms and allows citizens to directly participate in shaping the future structure of the state.From the perspective of comparative constitutional practice, the use of referendums corresponds to the international tradition of direct democracy, which is widely applied, for example, in Switzerland. The high voter turnout and the calm conduct of the vote indicate significant public interest in constitutional reforms,” noted public law expert Marc Ri
