11 international treaties and interstate agreements were ratified by MPs at the first session of the Kazakh Parliament of the eighth convocation. Today, Mazhilis Speaker Yerlan Koshanov summed up the session results at a joint meeting of the two houses of the Parliament. According to him, cooperation groups with the parliaments of over 100 countries were also created in the field of parliamentary diplomacy. A total of 82 draft laws were accepted for consideration during 100 days, 25 of which have been adopted, and 13 have already come into effect. The laws initiated by MPs include the laws on the return of illegally acquired assets to the state, regulation of the circulation of liquefied gas, housing and utilities sector, as well as on nuclear safety at the former Semipalatinsk test site.
“We will continue working on the bill on child payments from the National Fund, which is one of the main initiatives of the Head of State within his major political reforms. President Tokayev assigned new tasks of working on the draft Tax, Budget, Water, and Urban Development Codes, along with draft laws on public procurement, science, and science and technology policy,” said Koshanov.
During the session, Kazakh MPs received about 7,000 letters. Members of the Senate and Mazhilis sent over 300 requests to the state bodies of the country. According to MPs, who went on summer recess, but will continue their work in the regions, the primary thing is to address the most pressing issues of concern to Kazakh citizens.
“Sometimes we did not have time to voice all MPs’ requests at meetings and had to put them in a queue, which could have 40 requests. This shows that the Kazakh citizens have lots of questions. I plan to meet with residents of the capital and listen to their problems in the first 10 days of the recess,” said Daulet Mukayev, member of the Mazhilis, the Lower House of the Kazakh Parliament.
“First of all, we will hold meetings with voters then we will visit settlements. Only then I will be able to spend time with my family. Afterwards, I will start preparing for the next session, where several legislative projects will be considered,” said Askhat Aimagambetov, member of the Mazhilis, the Lower House of the Kazakh Parliament.
For the first time in the history of the Kazakh Parliament, the eighth convocation included the youngest members elected in single-mandate constituencies. The changes also affected the expansion of the powers of the parties that were elected to the Mazhilis.