Kazakhstan court rules President Tokayev can seek another term

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court has ruled that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev can seek another seven-year term in office, effectively resetting his presidential term limit.

The court said on Tuesday that restrictions under the country’s newly adopted constitution only apply to elections held after the law came into force on 1 July. As a result, terms served under the previous 1995 basic law will not be counted towards the single-term limit.

Approved in a nationwide referendum in March, the new constitution formally limits the presidency to a single seven-year term. However, the ruling removes the main legal barrier preventing the 73-year-old president from running again when his current mandate ends in 2029.

The court’s decision comes despite a public promise made by Mr Tokayev four years ago, in July 2022, that he had no intention of extending his mandate.

"I have been asked, both at home and abroad, whether the current head of state intends to extend his powers through a referendum—in other words, to reset his presidential terms," he said at the time. "My answer is clear: I have had no such intention, and I never will."

Mr Tokayev first assumed office in March 2019 following the resignation of Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had ruled the oil-rich Central Asian nation for nearly three decades.

After winning a snap election later that year, Mr Tokayev secured a seven-year term in November 2022. That vote followed extensive constitutional changes that officials said were designed to move Kazakhstan away from a "super-presidential" system of governance.

Political analysts in the region say the latest court ruling provides a "fail-safe" for the country's political elite, reducing uncertainty and preventing premature infighting over a future transition of power.

Opposition figures have criticised the move, drawing comparisons to other former Soviet republics where leaders have amended constitutions to extend their time in office.

Mr Tokayev has not yet announced whether he intends to run for another term.