Kasachstan

Incumbent Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev will face off against five relatively unknown candidates -- including, for the first time, two women -- in an early presidential election slated for next month.

The president of Kazakhstan on Saturday signed constitutional amendments that extended the presidential term to seven years and brought back the old name of the country's capital.

Kazakhstan's president, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, has called for an early presidential election in the coming months in which he will seek a second term in office. In an annual address on September 1, Toqaev also proposed increasing the presidential term to seven years from five years while barring future presidents from seeking more than one term.

The pace of trials related to the violence that left 238 people dead is accelerating as the authorities move to conclude the criminal proceedings and move Kazakhstan on from the unrest that has come to be known as Bloody January.

Over 76% of Kazakh voters approved on Sunday (5 June) the constitutional changes aimed at political reform put to a referendum by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, with 68.44% or 8 million citizens turning out to vote, according to exit polls.

Organizers admit that few people understand the proposed changes to the constitution, and yet also claim that most people back them.

The TITR (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route), known as the Middle Corridor, is an international development linking China's rail freight transport networks with the European Union, bypassing Russia. Launched in 2017, the project links Caspian Sea and Black Sea ferry terminals with rail systems in China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Poland.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced a national referendum on his proposed amendments to the county’s constitution and warned against what he described as “provocateurs who are trying to undermine the unity in the country”. … In March, Tokayev proposed constitutional reforms to limit the powers of the president’s office, … .

In an exclusive interview, Timur Suleimenov, the first deputy chief of staff to the president of Kazakhstan, discussed the war in Ukraine, the impact of Western sanctions on his country, the drive for modernisation following the January unrest and changing geopolitical balances.

Constitutional reforms to limit the powers of the president’s office have been announced by Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who says the country needs to switch from “superpresidential” rule to a presidential republic with a strong parliament.