Voters in Kazakhstan approve Constitutional Changes.

June 7, 2022

Voters in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan have given overwhelming approval to proposed constitutional changes widely seen as an attempt to repudiate the legacy of former strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev, who led the ex-Soviet republic for three decades.
According to Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission, 77% of voters supported the constitutional amendments in referendum, according to preliminary results, while just under 19% voted against them and about 2.6% of ballots were found invalid. The turnout was 68%.
Referendum included specific questions on modifications like prohibiting the death penalty and banning some officials from joining political parties.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev vowed Political reforms, including reducing the power of the presidency and strengthening parliament, reducing government involvement in the economy, and to bridge the gap between rich and poor.