Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court clears way for Tokayev to run again

Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court has clarified that people who held certain state posts under the 1995 Constitution may be re-elected or reappointed to those positions after the new Constitution enters into force, Report informs, citing a statement by the court.

The decision may open the way for Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to run for another presidential term.

The Constitutional Court said the decision was adopted following a request by the president of Kazakhstan for an official interpretation of several provisions of the country's Constitution.

The court examined whether people holding office under the 1995 Constitution may seek the same positions after the 2026 Constitution enters into force.

According to the court's clarification, restrictions set out in the new constitutional provisions take into account only elections or appointments that took place under the current Constitution and regulations adopted on its basis.

Terms in office, as well as elections or appointments that took place while the 1995 Constitution was in force, are not taken into account when applying the new restrictions.

Therefore, the mere fact that a person held the relevant post before the new Constitution entered into force does not prevent that person from being elected or appointed to the post again. Such election or appointment will be regarded as the first under the new constitutional rules.

Kazakhstan's new Constitution entered into force on July 1, 2026. It provides that the president of Kazakhstan is elected for a single seven-year term.

Tokayev won Kazakhstan's snap presidential election on June 9, 2019, with 70.96% of the vote and was elected president. In November 2022, he won another snap presidential election with 81.31% of the vote. Tokayev's current term as president of Kazakhstan expires in November 2029.