Deputy Chairman of the Kazakh Constitutional Court, Bakyt Nurmukhanov, has presented the first draft of Kazakhstan’s new Constitution at the sixth session of the Constitutional Commission.

Nurmukhanov said the draft was prepared following proposals made by Commission members at the previous session and incorporates public suggestions gathered over the past six months, as well as opinions and recommendations voiced during the fourth session, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

He noted that the document consists of a fully revised Preamble, 11 sections, and 95 articles.

“The Preamble has been completely updated and reflects national values rooted in our past while guiding the country’s present and future. The development of human capital, education, science, and innovation is defined as a strategic pillar of state policy,” Nurmukhanov noted, adding that these changes underwent broad public discussion and received wide support.

The first section, Foundations of the Constitutional Order, sets out key provisions defining the state structure and strengthening sovereignty and independence. The draft explicitly defines Kazakhstan as a unitary state with a presidential republic as its form of government, reflecting long-standing recommendations from scholars and experts.

The draft also proposes regulating the administrative-territorial structure through constitutional law rather than ordinary legislation. Sovereignty and independence, unitarity, territorial integrity, and the form of government are designated as immutable values and are enshrined in the opening articles of the Constitution.

Nurmukhanov highlighted that a proposal by Commission Deputy Chairman Erlan Karin to constitutionally enshrine the principle that sovereignty belongs to the people has been included. “Article 4 clearly states that the people of Kazakhstan are the sole source of state power and the bearer of sovereignty,” he said.

Earlier, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed that any constitutional amendments, even minor ones, should be adopted exclusively through a national referendum, underscoring the importance of public participation in the reform process.