The fourth meeting of the Working Group on Parliamentary Reform, chaired by State Counselor Yerlan Karin, took place in Astana. The meeting marked an important milestone in the discussion of upcoming changes to Kazakhstan's legislative system.
During the meeting, Natalia Pan, Director of the Institute of Parliamentarism, presented a report on proposals received from citizens and experts aimed at improving the legislative function of Parliament.
According to Natalia Pan, the initiatives submitted to the Working Group concern not only parliamentary reform but also a broader range of public administration issues.
"In addition to proposals for parliamentary reform, citizens and public associations are submitting initiatives calling for other constitutional changes—in particular, those related to improving the effectiveness of public administration, protecting human rights, and other aspects," she noted. The Director of the Institute of Parliamentarism emphasized that the volume of such proposals significantly exceeds the number received within the framework of parliamentary reform.
"These initiatives were received outside the aforementioned five hundred proposals directly related to parliamentary reform. Their total number exceeds one and a half thousand—that is, almost three times as many," Natalia Pan clarified.
In his speech, State Counselor Erlan Karin recalled that broad public discussion of the reform has been ongoing for approximately six months. He emphasized that parliamentary reform is part of a large-scale political modernization initiated by the Head of State.
"This work is a logical continuation of consistent political transformations, including four reform packages from 2019–2021 and the Constitutional Reform of 2022. All presidential initiatives are aimed at strengthening the institutional resilience of the state and adapting the political system to modern conditions," Erlan Karin emphasized.
The main topics of the meeting were the interaction of the future Parliament with other government institutions, as well as the possible name of the new unicameral legislative body.
Meeting participants noted that the upcoming constitutional amendments are aimed not only at improving the efficiency of the legislative branch but also at updating the entire system of interaction between state institutions.
Following the meeting, the State Counselor instructed that all proposals received be summarized and systematized. Work on developing approaches to improving the parliamentary system will be continued in stages at future meetings of the Working Group.
