„I have already said that this is the Constitution of a fair Kazakhstan – this is a Constitution of law and order. This is a Constitution aimed at the future“, said the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. According to him, the new Basic Law is largely dedicated to the younger generation.
„This Constitution should serve as a guide, a guiding principle, first of all, for young people. This is its main goal. Kazakhstan should be a progressive and modern country. This is a very important goal for us“, Tokayev emphasized.
After the referendum vote, the president held a press briefing.
„Constitutional reform in international practice takes a lot of time, but in our country the preparation and discussion of the new Constitution took a short time.“ This moment attracted attention and became the subject of criticism from international observers. “How do you assess this aspect and what are your thoughts on this issue?“, asked one of the journalists.
The head of state noted that work on the Constitution has been underway for a long time.
“You know that in 2022 amendments were made to the Constitution. Then a new Constitution could have been adopted, but we abstained. And so the idea of adopting a new Constitution was born. I started working on it about 2 years ago. I believed that the country needed a new Constitution. Our country should be, first of all, a secular state. I am confident that this is the Constitution of a progressive Kazakhstan. We must be proactive, keep up with progress and not lag behind. First of all, if we are not a progressive country, we will lose trust in the eyes of foreign countries. Therefore, we must take our fate into our own hands. We must work diligently for the good of the country. This is the most important goal that lies ahead of us“, said Kassam-Jomart Tokayev.
According to observers, the referendum demonstrates the participation of Kazakh citizens in shaping their constitutional future. According to Imran Sadikhov, the preliminary results of the referendum reflect the broad participation of citizens, emphasizing the active participation of the people of Kazakhstan in shaping the constitutional future of their country.
“Kazakhstan remains a valued and active member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and once again declares its support for efforts aimed at strengthening constitutional institutions, promoting stability and achieving sustainable development in the country“, said the chairman.
Earlier, SCO Deputy Secretary-General Oleg Kopylov said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization observer mission had not identified any violations that could have affected the results of the national referendum on the draft new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. TURKPA observers, for their part, praised the high level of the referendum.