The transition to a unicameral Parliament would help speed up and simplify the legislative process, according to domestic experts. They note that this approach has been successfully implemented in many countries. More than 100 countries in the world have unicameral Parliaments. At the fifth session of the National Kurultai, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed naming Kazakhstan’s new legislative body the Kurultai. It is expected to consist of 145 deputies. Membership in a political party would become a mandatory requirement for election, with the self-nomination mechanism no longer applied. In addition, the new Parliament would not include quotas for the President or the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.
«Firstly, the Parliament will be unicameral and elected on a proportional basis, meaning that only political parties can nominate candidates. A member of a political organization must secure at least 5% of all votes cast. Our party system continues to develop. Currently, there are six parties in the Parliament, and their number may increase in the future,» said Aigul Kuspan, a member of the Mazhilis, the Lower House of the Kazakh Parliament.
In addition, Kazakhstan is set to establish a People’s Council. The new body will combine the experience of the National Kurultai and the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. It will serve as the country’s highest consultative institution, ensuring representation of all ethnic groups, regions, and segments of society. The council is expected to comprise 126 members. Experts note that it is not merely a platform for discussion, but a tool for uniting active citizens around shared national goals.
«Khalyk Kenesi - the People’s Council. Its functions have not yet been fully defined. It will serve as a platform for dialogue at the level of the National Kurultai. In other words, reforms, initiatives, innovations, or draft laws will be discussed here with public participation,» noted Alua Zholdybalina, Deputy Director, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan.
Kazakh citizens’ personal digital data will be protected by law. This was also stated by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the National Kurultai. Under the new approach, citizens’ digital information will be regulated at the legal level. According to experts, individuals will be able to set limits on the storage and use of their personal data. In the new model of constitutional reform, digital security will receive special attention.
«The issue of protecting digital data goes beyond purely technical or industry-specific matters,
it is fundamentally about safeguarding human rights. As we say, we are living in the age of digitalization,
the era of AI, and therefore, in the future, we will be prepared at the
legislative level to face modern challenges,» shared IT specialist Gassyr Kuralbai.
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