Kazakhstan Constitutional Referendum Sees Over 70% Turnout by Evening

By 6:00 PM local time, more than eight and a half million Kazakh citizens had cast their votes in the nationwide referendum on adopting a new Constitution. The Central Referendum Commission reported a preliminary turnout of 70.98% of eligible voters.

The data was announced by the Secretary of the Central Referendum Commission, Shavkat Utemisov. The highest voter activity was recorded in the Kyzylorda Region, where turnout reached 91.80%. Other regions with notably high participation included the East Kazakhstan Region (83.63%), Aktobe Region (83.12%), and Turkistan Region (82.03%).

In major cities, turnout varied significantly: Astana reported 56.72%, Shymkent 74.44%, while Almaty had the lowest figure at 32.82%. The referendum was officially deemed to have taken place earlier in the day when turnout surpassed the required threshold of over 50% by 2:00 PM.

The single-question ballot, printed in both Kazakh and Russian, asked citizens: "Do you accept the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the draft of which was published in the mass media on February 12, 2026?" Voters could answer either "Yes, I agree" or "No, I disagree," with no option to vote on individual chapters or articles.

The proposed amendments represent changes to approximately 84% of the text of the country's fundamental law. Polling stations opened at 7:00 AM and were scheduled to close at 8:00 PM on March 15.

According to legislation, every citizen must vote in person, with exceptions made only for home voting for those unable to reach a polling station due to health reasons. The official results of the referendum are required to be announced by March 21, 2026.