Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan Officially Annuls Tokayev's Presidential Terms
Tokayev can run for president again.
Due to the entry into force of the country's new Constitution, the terms of office of Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have been officially annulled. The corresponding decision was published by the Constitutional Court of the republic on Tuesday. This decision opens up the possibility for Tokayev to run for head of state again.
The country's new Basic Law came into force on July 1, 2026.
The Constitutional Court, following an official request from Tokayev himself, explained that any elections or appointments to high-ranking positions that occurred during the validity of the previous 1995 Constitution are simply not taken into account when applying the new restrictions.
Work in high-ranking positions under the previous version of the law does not prevent re-occupying them. As the court noted in its explanation, the election or appointment of such persons after July 1 is considered as having occurred for the first time.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has led Kazakhstan since 2019, when he took office after the resignation of the first president Nursultan Nazarbayev, and then won the elections.
In 2022, the country introduced a single seven-year term without the right to re-election, and according to the old norms, Tokayev's powers were strictly limited and were supposed to end in 2029.
The current decision completely negates this restriction, although in 2022 Tokayev publicly stated that he did not plan to reset his terms. The new version of the Constitution was adopted in a referendum on March 15 with an announced support of 87.15% of voters.
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