All amendments proposed to the Constitution of Kazakhstan and submitted to the referendum to be held on June 5 are aimed at strengthening the system of checks and balances, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday in an address to the nation in connection with the upcoming referendum on constitutional amendments.
"The constitutional reform has provoked a broad response in society. All its provisions are aimed not at increasing the privileges and powers of the president, but at strengthening the system of checks and balances between the branches of power, protecting the interests, rights and freedoms of all citizens. I am sure that the people's will on the constitutional amendments will lay a solid foundation for a new and fair Kazakhstan," Tokayev said.
He urged all Kazakhstanis to take part in the referendum.
"For the first time in the history of our country, changes to the constitution will be made through a nationwide referendum. The referendum is an important step towards building a developed democratic society in Kazakhstan," the Kazakh president explained. According to him, the referendum will be a test of society's civic maturity and political awareness.
Tokayev at a session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan April 29 proposed a referendum on amendments to the Constitution. The amendments reduce the powers of the head of state, significantly strengthen the role of parliament and local representative bodies, systematically strengthen the human rights sector, reconstitute the Constitutional Court, fix the final abolition of the death penalty and exclude provisions on the status of the first leader of the country Nursultan Nazarbayev.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS