GOVERNMENT
Kazakhstan is a constitutional republic with a strong presidency. It is divided into 14 oblasts and the two municipal districts of Almaty and Astana. Each is headed by an akim (provincial governor) appointed by the president. Municipal akims are appointed by oblast akims. The Government of Kazakhstan transferred its capital from Almaty to Astana on June 10, 1998.
The president is the head of state. The president also is the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has been in office since Kazakhstan became independent. In 1995, President Nazarbayev called for a referendum that expanded his presidential powers: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda, and appoint administrative heads of regions and Astana and Almaty. The prime minister, who serves at the pleasure of the president, chairs the Cabinet of Ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government. There are two deputy prime ministers and 17 ministers in the Cabinet.
In December 2005, President Nazarbayev won a new 7-year term in an election that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fell short of international standards. Official results gave the president 91% of the vote, although independent exit polls found this figure to be somewhat inflated. Opposition candidates Zharmakhan Tuyakbay (For a Just Kazakhstan) and Alikhan Baymenov (Ak Zhol) were able to compete freely in this election.
Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament, comprised of a lower house (the Mazhilis) and upper house (the Senate). Ninety-eight members of the Mazhilis are elected by a party-list vote. Nine members of the Mazhilis are elected by the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan. The Senate has 47 members. Two senators are selected by each of the elected assemblies (Maslikhats) of Kazakhstan's 16 principal administrative divisions (14 regions, or oblasts, plus the cities of Astana and Almaty). The president appoints the remaining fifteen senators. Mazhilis deputies, the government, and the president have the right of legislative initiative, though the government proposes most legislation considered by the Parliament.
President Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party won the August 2007 elections to the Mazhilis. None of the remaining political parties won a seat during the elections, which the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fell short of international standards.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Nursultan Nazarbayev
Head of Presidential Administration--Kairat Kelimbetov
Prosecutor General--Rashid Tusupbekov
National Security Committee (KNB) Chairman--Amangeldy Shabdarbayev
Prime Minister--Karim Masimov
Deputy Prime Minister--Yerbol Orynbayev
Deputy Prime Minister--Umirzak Shukeyev
State Secretary--Kanat Saudabayev
Minister of Agriculture--Akhmetzhan Yesimov
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Marat Tazhin
Minister of Culture and Information--Yermukhamed Yertysbayev
Minister of Tourism and Sports--Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov
Minister of Defense--Daniyal K. Akhmetov
Minister of Economy and Budget Planning--Bakhyt Sultanov
Minister of Education and Science--Zhanseit Tuymebayev
Minister of Environmental Protection--Nurlan Iskakov
Minister of Finance--Bolat Zhamishev
Minister of Health Care--Anatoliy Dernovoy
Minister of Industry and Trade--Vladimir Shkolnik
Minister of Interior--Baurzhan Mukhamedzhanov
Minister of Justice--Zagipa Baliyeva
Minister of Labor and Social Protection--Berdybek Saparbayev
Minister of Transport and Communication--Serik Akhmetov
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources--Sauat Mynbayev
Type: Republic.
Independence: December 16, 1991 (from the Soviet Union).
Declaration of sovereignty: October 25, 1990.
Constitution: August 30, 1995 constitution adopted by referendum replaced a 1993 constitution.
Branches: Executive--president, prime minister, Council of Ministers. Legislative--Senate and Mazhilis. Judicial--Supreme Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 14 oblasts plus 2 cities--Almaty, the former capital, and Astana, the current capital; and the territory of Baykonur, which contains the space launch center that the Russians built and now lease.
Ten political parties are registered: Nur Otan ("The Light of Fatherland" in Kazakh), Azat ("Free"; formerly known as True Ak Zhol), the National Social Democratic Party, Ak Zhol (Bright Path), Auyl (Farm), the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, the Communist People's Party, Party of Patriots, Adilet (Justice), and Rukhaniyat (Spirituality).
Suffrage: Universal, 18 years of age.
