The Kazakhstan Khalyk Kenesi (People’s Council) will become a new platform for dialogue between society and the state. The body will be granted the status of the highest constitutional advisory institution and will have the authority to propose referendums and initiate legislation. It will consist of 126 members, including representatives of ethno-cultural associations, public organizations, and regions. On Friday, at a joint session of Parliament’s chambers, deputies approved in the first reading three draft constitutional laws: on the Kazakhstan Khalyk Kenesi, on the status of the capital, and on the country’s administrative-territorial structure.
«I believe the Council will include businesspeople, representatives of public associations, and different groups in society. This is a mechanism that enables direct dialogue between society and the state. Members of the Khalyk Kenesi will serve on a voluntary basis,» said Yerlan Sairov, member of the Mazhilis, the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament.
Furthermore, the special
status of Astana will be enshrined at the constitutional level. This document
significantly expands the powers of the city administration and maslikhats in
the areas of urban planning, traffic management, migration, ecology, tourism,
and municipal property. It also sets out provisions on forming a unified
architectural identity of the capital and developing its infrastructure. In
addition, the draft constitutional law on the administrative-territorial
structure of the country includes provisions defining
administrative-territorial units and regulating the procedures for the
formation, transformation, and abolition of regions, districts, cities,
villages, or settlements.
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