Kazakhstan's Constitutional Referendum Deemed Valid as Voter Turnout Exceeds 50%

Kazakhstan's nationwide referendum on a new Constitution has officially been declared valid after voter turnout surpassed the required 50% threshold by midday.

According to preliminary data from the Central Referendum Commission (CRC), turnout stood at 51.93% by 2:00 PM local time, with 6,471,378 citizens having cast their ballots out of a total of 12,461,796 eligible voters.

Shavkat Utemisov, Secretary of the CRC, confirmed the referendum's validity by citing constitutional law. "In accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 31 of the Constitutional Law 'On the Republican Referendum,' a referendum is considered to have taken place if more than half of the citizens entitled to participate in the referendum have taken part in the voting," Utemisov stated.

Regional data showed significant variation in participation rates across the country. The highest turnout was recorded in Kyzylorda Region at 64.63%, followed by Aktobe Region at 61.37%. The lowest figures were seen in major cities: Almaty reported only a 21.68% turnout, while Astana's was 40.68%. All other regions reported figures above or near the national average.

The referendum asks citizens a single question: "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 must 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 are scheduled to close at 8:00 PM on March 15. The final results are expected to be announced no later than March 21, 2026.