Paris-Geneva-Brussels, 20 April 2026. On 15 March 2026, Kazakhstan’s new Constitution was approved through a referendum, with 73.12% of citizens participating and 87.15% voting in favor of the proposed amendments. The accepted amendments introduce significant changes to several core constitutional principles.
What began as a presidential initiative for parliamentary reforms quickly evolved into a broad package of constitutional amendments, affecting more than 80 percent of the Constitution’s text. A working group on parliamentary reform was established in September 2025, followed by the creation of a Constitutional Commission in January 2026. Moreover, the project shifted from amending the existing Constitution to drafting the new one. No draft text was disclosed to the public until 30 January 2026, after which, given the accelerated timeline, the final version was published on 12 February 2026.
However, the public, including civil society, was not properly included in debates or discussion. Yevgeniy Zhovtis, Chief Expert-Consultant of FIDH’s Kazakhstani member organisation, the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR), has raised serious concerns about the quality of public engagement during the drafting process, describing the consultation as a "conversation with a loudspeaker on a pole – it only goes one way".
The referendum, which took place on 15 March 2026, left an extremely limited window for public discussion. Moreover, voters faced a single yes-or-no choice on the entire package of amendments with no option to vote on individual changes separately.
Several areas of concern are revealed by the comparative analysis done by the KIBHR, of the draft new edition of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan with previous versions of the constitution.
In particular, the analysis reveals significant changes in the balance of power between branches of government, including the shift to a unicameral parliament, the reduction of its powers compared to the current Constitution, and the introduction of a Vice President appointed by the President with a consent of the Parliament rather than elected. It undermines the system of checks and balances that democratic governance depends on, concentrating presidential autocracy.
Furthermore, the new Constitution removes the requirement that ratified international treaties have priority over national legislation. This change weakens legal safeguards and may undermine the protection of rights and freedoms, particularly in cases where national courts or state authorities fail to uphold them.
Additionally, another worrying change for human rights defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. This constitutional definition of the family limits civil rights and freedoms by excluding other forms of partnership from legal recognition and protection.
A further concern relates to the fact that the new version introduces undefined grounds for restricting freedom of expression. Vague terms such as "morality" and "spiritual and moral values of society" are added as possible bases for limitation, raising concerns about the principle of legal certainty.
Moreover, the new Constitution introduces a stigmatizing transparency norm requiring NGOs to publicly disclose all funds and assets received from foreign sources. Taken together, these amendments, along with others, enable the government to restrict fundamental rights and freedoms in a new way, and can be interpreted as a diminishing interest in democratic values.
Public criticism of the proposed amendments has been met with pressure on activists and independent media. On 4 February 2026, activist Zharkyn Kurentayev was detained by police in Almaty ahead of a press conference on constitutional reform organized by the Bureau for Human Rights. The same day, activist Yermek Narymbay was placed in detention in Astana after criticizing the amendments on social media. On 20 February 2026, an Astana resident, Kantemir Almyshev, was arrested for 15 days for publishing a series of posts on Threads criticizing the proposed constitutional amendments. He was taken directly from his workplace at a barbershop in the evening.
These incidents were accompanied by pressure on the media. The website of news agency KazTAG became inaccessible through several internet providers shortly after publishing an article critical of the reform, with access later restored.
Several documented cases of judicial harassment affected economist Marat Abdurakhmanov, journalists Dina Elgezek and Zhalgass Ertai, and other public figures and activists. Civil activist Orazal Yerzhanov was arbitrarily detained for social media posts calling for a referendum boycott. Despite the referendum proceeding without incident and no victims identified, he remains under house arrest facing charges of obstructing citizens’ participation.
The organisation League of Young Voters, which monitored the voting process during the referendum on March 15, recorded a range of violations, irregularities, and obstacles that hindered the work of observers on that day. According to observers, turnout at the polling stations where monitoring took place was 30.7% while official protocols from the precinct election commissions reported turnout of 52.51%. In total, the League documented 29 violations of the election law.
The constitutional amendments will be implemented by July 2026 and applied in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for August 2026. Kazakh human rights defenders are deeply concerned about anticipated changes and amendments to existing legislation following the adoption of the new Constitution. They fear that authorities will use this opportunity to further narrow civic space.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), its Kazakhstani member organisations and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) condemn the adoption of amendments that restrict fundamental rights and freedoms, call on state authorities to include civil society representatives in the implementation of the amendments to safeguard human rights and freedoms, urge the authorities for an end to the judicial harassment of individuals exercising freedom of speech and expression, and demand the release of all those imprisoned for expressing their views.