The Kuryltai of the Republic of Kazakhstan
In his Address to the People of Kazakhstan dated 8 September 2025, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev put forward an initiative to transition to a unicameral Parliament.
The key parameters of the new parliamentary model were presented by the Head of State on 20 January 2026 at the Fifth Meeting of the National Kuryltai. It was proposed to establish a unicameral Parliament — the Kuryltai of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The reform provided not only for a change in the structure of Parliament, but also for the renewal of the procedure for its formation, the legislative process, and the powers of the country’s supreme representative body.
The parliamentary reform became an integral part of broader constitutional transformations. Following the work of the Constitutional Commission, the draft of the new Constitution was submitted to a nationwide vote.
On 15 March 2026, at a republican referendum, the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan was adopted by the citizens of the country.
The new Constitution entered into force on 1 July 2026.
In accordance with the Constitution, the Kuryltai is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Kazakhstan exercising legislative power.
The Kuryltai consists of 145 deputies elected for a term of five years under a proportional electoral system based on party lists. All deputies of the Kuryltai are elected by the citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The Constitution expanded the powers of the supreme representative body within the system of state authority. In addition to exercising legislative power, the Kuryltai participates in the formation of key state bodies, gives consent to appointments provided for by the Constitution, including those of the Vice President, the Prime Minister, judges of the Constitutional Court, members of the Central Election Commission and the Supreme Audit Chamber, elects judges of the Supreme Court upon the proposal of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and exercises other powers established by the Fundamental Law.
The legislative process provides for the consideration of draft laws by the Kuryltai in three readings.
The new model for forming the supreme legislative body intensified political competition and enhanced the role of political parties and their accountability to voters.
By Decree of the President dated 1 July 2026 No. 1338, elections of deputies to the Kuryltai of the Republic of Kazakhstan were scheduled for 23 August 2026.
Seven political parties participated in the election campaign: the Adilet Party, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, the Baitaq Kazakhstan Green Party, the People’s Party of Kazakhstan, the Auyl Party, the Ak Zhol Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, and the Respublica Party.
On 23 August 2026, the first elections of deputies to the Kuryltai of the Republic of Kazakhstan were held. They marked the final stage of the transition to the new model of the country’s supreme representative body and opened a new period in the history of Kazakhstan’s parliamentarism.
Based on the election results and subject to the requirements of electoral legislation, parliamentary seats were distributed among five political parties that received 5 percent or more of the votes cast:
- Adilet Party — 110 seats;
- Nationwide Social Democratic Party — 8 seats;
- Auyl Party — 10 seats;
- Ak Zhol Democratic Party of Kazakhstan — 8 seats;
- Respublica Party — 9 seats.
By Decree of the President dated 26 August 2026 No. 1411, the first session of the Kuryltai of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the first convocation was convened for 28 August 2026.