Tokayev tells new People’s Council the institutional reset is in place – and the next test is delivery

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev used the first working session of the Kazakhstan People’s Council on 24 September to cast the new body as a practical channel between state and society, not a rival parliament.

The timing matters. After a year of constitutional redesign, elections and senior appointments, the last major institution created by the new Constitution is now sitting. The political architecture looks complete. The argument from Astana is that Kazakhstan can now concentrate on growth, social delivery and a larger middle-power role.

The Council – Khalyk Kenesi in Kazakh – has constitutional status and 126 members drawn from ethnic and cultural associations, regional maslikhats, public councils and civil society. Tokayev said it should raise regional problems to the national level, stay in direct contact with citizens and avoid formalism. It is not a substitute for the Kurultai, the new unicameral legislature. The two bodies, he said, must talk regularly and stay out of each other’s legal powers, especially when laws touch everyday interests. Yerlan Koshanov, a former Mazhilis speaker, was elected Council chair a day earlier on Tokayev’s nomination.

That sitting closes a sequence that began with the March 2026 referendum, in which voters approved a new Constitution with 87.15 percent support. The text entered into force on 1 July. It abolished the bicameral Parliament of Senate and Mazhilis, created a 145-seat Kurultai elected by nationwide party list, restored a vice presidency and replaced older consultative forums with the People’s Council. Kurultai elections followed on 23 August. Adilet won 110 seats. The chamber opened on 28 August, elected Aibek Dädebai as speaker, then confirmed Erlan Karin as the first vice president under the new system and returned Olzhas Bektenov as prime minister to lead a reconstituted government. With the Council now in session, the main posts and assemblies envisaged in the reform are filled.

Tokayev used the platform to recite seven-year economic and social figures: GDP up 29 percent to $306 billion; reserves and National Fund assets above $138 billion; more than $162 billion in investment; SMEs above 40 percent of the economy; more than 20 million square metres of housing built each year; 1,342 schools since 2019; life expectancy at 76; more than 1,200 healthcare facilities; and more than 35,000 kilometres of roads built or repaired. Kazakhstan, he said, has entered the world’s top 40 most competitive countries. He also pointed to weak spots: quality of housing and roads, tighter public oversight of infrastructure, and a projected need for 2.9 million specialists by 2035, including 1.8 million in skilled trades.

On foreign policy he repeated a now-familiar aim: position Kazakhstan as a middle power, attract investment, and promote the country’s interests, history and culture. That claim is easier to make if domestic institutions look settled. The Council’s first session is being presented in Astana as that settlement – the last piece of a reset that ran from constitution to ballot box to Kurultai, vice president, government and consultative chamber. Whether the new machinery actually improves dialogue and delivery is the test that follows the ceremony.

Central Asia is quietly becoming a force at the UN Security Council.
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan: 2027–28 Seat secured
🇹🇯 Tajikistan: 2028–29 candidate
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan: 2031–32 candidate
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan: 2035–36 candidate
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan: 2039–40 candidate
If Tajikistan wins, Central Asia will…
— Ken Moriyasu (@kenmoriyasu) September 24, 2026