President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s most up-to-date handle to the nation is a brand new political milestone within the historical past of the nation by setting qualitatively totally different requirements for the system of energy by means of the very best types of transparency for an important political selections, and his sense of fixed renewal and the necessity for open competitors.
Tokayev’s resolution to make the whole electoral schedule public is an unprecedented step for Kazakhstan’s political tradition.
The launch of the whole election cycle is conditioned by the necessity for a radical reboot of our political system and is totally in keeping with the rationale of the constitutional reform supported by nearly all of residents within the June referendum.
The consecutive holding of presidential elections, adopted by the election of deputies to the majilis (the decrease chamber of the parliament) and maslikhats (native consultant our bodies) will concentrate on the answer of pressing and strategic duties for the socio-economic growth of the nation. In different phrases, the collected rhythm of the nation’s modernization won’t be disturbed.
The rising geostrategic tensions and turbulence on the planet’s financial system are robust elements for holding early elections. The unpredictability of the dynamics of world processes multiplies the dangers and challenges not just for particular person states, however for complete areas.
One other central initiative of Tokayev’s handle is a proposal to restrict the presidential mandate to a single time period of seven years with out the fitting to re-election, which, if accepted by the parliament, will decide the way forward for Kazakhstan’s political system.
On this case, the election of 1 individual as president for just one seven-year time period is a political innovation, one which has no precedent amongst Kazakhstan’s neighbors. The concept of a one-time presidency is primarily aimed on the long-term stabilization of the political system, one that can remove the dangers of a monopoly on energy by a single particular person and can strengthen the essential rules of the nation’s democracy.
The initiative in direction of a single presidential time period is a logical development that has already been taken as a part of a transfer to lastly transition away from the super-presidential mannequin. These steps embrace having a non-partisan head of state, a ban on his kin holding positions in authorities businesses and state-owned corporations, and the redistribution of some presidential powers in favor of different establishments. The introduction of a single presidential time period would finish the method of getting an institutionalized presidential republic in favor of an optimum steadiness of energy.
The initiative to carry early elections to the majilis and maslikhats on all ranges within the first half of the subsequent 12 months additionally comes from the broad political modernization program.
Elections in single-mandate districts, underneath a blended electoral system, are being applied and can develop into an vital consider bettering the political tradition within the nation and a strong device for articulating the pursuits of residents on the native degree.
The electoral laws will quickly work in line with new guidelines. The registration process for political events shall be simplified, which has already contributed to the emergence of recent events, new faces in politics, and elevated political competitors. This development is irreversible, and the additional deepening of Kazakhstan’s political modernization will solely develop.
The renewal of consultant our bodies of energy, together with new rules within the majilis and maslikhats, shall be intently linked to the great transformation of the chief vertical of energy – i.e. the federal government and administration. Sooner or later, the federal government will embrace not solely representatives of the celebration that gained essentially the most votes, however representatives of different parliamentary events.
The entire political initiatives introduced in Tokayev’s September 3 handle comprehensively present actual weight to our nation-building mission: “A robust president – influential parliament – and accountable authorities”. These new reforms present the impetus for a brand new electoral cycle, which can enable for the restart of the whole political system.
*A model of this text first appeared within the Astana Occasions https://astanatimes.com/2022/09/president-tokayevs-address-to-nation-opens-new-political-milestone-in-kazakhstans-history/
