ASTANA – Five years ago, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev officially assumed the presidency of Kazakhstan after winning a competitive open election. This marked the beginning of significant changes and challenges in the country. Maulen Ashimbayev, the chairperson of the Senate, the upper chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, discussed key events of these five years in an article published by the Time.kz news agency.
Photo credit: Press Service of the President of Kazakhstan
According to Ashimbayev, five years is a short time, but significant progress has been made, driven by the clear rationale behind the president’s reforms.
Kazakhstan finds itself at a critical juncture—a turning point that fundamentally alters the nation’s future. The government’s decisions, influenced by multifaceted forces—both internal and external, deliberate and spontaneous—largely determine the country’s future.
The country is at a historical crossroads and must consciously choose the right path. This prompted the President to propose a new starting point: a New and Just Kazakhstan.
The New Kazakhstan symbolizes continuity among its people, as noted by Tokayev, who emphasized that Kazakhs are one unified community. This symbol represents a paradigm shift in public consciousness, offering a genuine opportunity for comprehensive change.
The essence of this shift can be summarized as a move from an old management paradigm to an open democratic model, coupled with economic well-being for all citizens.
Early initiatives
Tokayev assumed the presidency under challenging circumstances, inheriting decades of unmet expectations and accumulated errors.
To remove any uncertainty, early presidential elections were organized in April 2019, signaling a shift in political engagement after 30 years. Tokayev won with 70.96% of the vote, centered his platform on a “listening state,” and immediately began fostering a proactive dialogue between the government and society.
Photo credit: Akorda
His first decree established the National Council of Public Trust, a pivotal tool for realizing a responsive government.
Subsequently, Tokayev announced the first wave of reforms in 2019 in his address to the nation, liberalizing laws on assemblies, reducing party registration thresholds, decriminalizing defamation, and abolishing the death penalty. Political opposition was also legally recognized for the first time.
In 2020 and 2021, Kazakhstan introduced its second and third waves of reforms aimed at enhancing public influence in regional governance. These reforms included electing akims (mayors), establishing local self-government, and empowering maslikhats (local representative bodies) with tools such as the right to express no confidence in the akim. The government also promoted political pluralism by reducing the party representation threshold in the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) from 7% to 5%, and introducing a “protest” option on the ballot. Kazakhstan also announced a comprehensive set of human rights measures.
Challenges and shift to a “listening state”
However, challenges arose, such as the 2019 detonation of military ammunition at Arys, damaging nearly 90% of homes in the area and prompting the evacuation of its 45,000 residents.
The COVID-19 pandemic further tested leadership, necessitating strict quarantine measures from 2020. Tokayev took direct control, swiftly implementing measures to overcome bureaucratic hurdles, ensuring the availability of medical supplies, building COVID-19 hospitals, and facilitating vaccine distribution. He emphasized the priority of public health with substantial financial support to citizens, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the agricultural sector totaling 6.5 trillion tenge ($13.6 billion), or 8.5% of gross domestic products.
The tragic events of January 2022 underscored underlying social tensions and the urgent need for systemic change. These challenges highlighted a growing demand for a government that is transparent, responsive to societal needs and committed to citizen welfare.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the military training ground in Arys in 2020. Photo credit: Akorda
These events also showed that returning to Kazakhstan’s previous state of five or ten years ago was impossible; both the country and its people had undergone significant changes during this period. Any attempt to restore the old system would inevitably lead to chaos and instability.
This societal shift aligned closely with the President’s core political reforms, which aimed at establishing a new governance model based on political competition and decentralization of power.
In 2022, during his address to the nation, Tokayev proposed a comprehensive package of political reforms, marking a definitive move from a monopolistic system to a balanced model with checks and balances among government branches.
The presidential authority is now restricted to a single term without the option for reelection, with some powers redistributed to other branches of government. The President is barred from affiliating with political parties or movements, and his close relatives are prohibited from holding political or leading roles in the quasi-state sector.
Parliament’s scope was broadened, introducing a mixed proportional-majoritarian electoral system and simplifying party registration procedures. An independent Constitutional Court was established to oversee governmental decisions and safeguard human rights. Enhancing regional autonomy empowered residents with tangible tools to influence local governance decisions.
Implementing these reforms required a comprehensive overhaul and transformation of all governmental institutions. Consequently, in September 2022, Tokayev announced an extraordinary electoral cycle, conforming to the revised Constitution’s norms, encompassing elections for the presidency, Parliament, and local councils nationwide.
Tokayev laid down the basic principles of democratic political culture for future presidents at the constitutional level, creating a reliable barrier against the concentration of power in the future.
Economic restructuring
Tokayev swiftly initiated economic reforms following the completion of the electoral cycle, which had already begun yielding results over the past five years. Non-resource exports increased by more than 1.5 times, and the country attracted nearly $117 billion in direct foreign investments. Since 2019, service exports, including IT services, surged twenty-fold, surpassing $500 million.
Central to the President’s new economic model, introduced in September 2023, were three fundamental principles: fairness, inclusivity, and pragmatism.
In 2022, on the sidelines of the Digital Bridge International Technology Forum, the Head of State held a number of meetings with the heads of international IT companies. Photo credit: Akorda
The National Fund for Children, launched in January, already benefits 6.9 million children, while over one trillion tenge of state assets were redirected to construct new schools nationwide.
A comprehensive modernization effort began in the energy and engineering sectors under the Tariff in Exchange for Investment framework. Market reforms aimed at openness, competitiveness, and the demonopolization of key sectors became the backbone of extensive economic modernization—from manufacturing to creative industries.
In May of this year, the President enacted measures to liberalize the economy, promoting business freedom, and competitive development, and reducing state involvement in economic processes. A pivotal strategy for market opening involves the gradual privatization of state assets, aiming to phase out state-participated entities (excluding strategic and social sectors and financial infrastructure) into free circulation by the end of 2028.
Additional steps are planned to foster a robust market environment, with a strong focus on nurturing medium-sized enterprises. These businesses are seen as pivotal in creating sustainable jobs, yielding significant economic benefits, and fostering healthy competition.
The path forward
Tokayev’s model reflects a transformation from a “listening state” to a Just Kazakhstan. Initially addressing inefficiencies such as concentrated and unremovable supreme power, overstated state influence in politics and the economy, the impacts of the uncontrolled oil revenues (Dutch disease) that corrupted the managerial elite, and market monopolization by oligarchic groups, systemic reforms aimed to bolster governmental, socio-political, and economic institutions.
After flying over the flooded territories, the President visited an evacuation point deployed at the Kazhym Zhumaliev Gymnasium school in the Karatobe district center. He got acquainted with the work of the humanitarian aid distribution point and met with residents of nearby villages evacuated after the flood. Photo credit: Akorda
Over five years, Kazakhstan has evolved from a super-presidential to a presidential republic, featuring a robust parliament, accountable government, autonomous regions, competitive enterprises, an engaged civil society, and public involvement in decision-making.
This transformation aims to establish a fair and just Kazakhstan, marked by open governance, equitable resource distribution, free market competition, and continuous feedback between society and the state.
The article was originally published on time.kz website.
