Astana (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council on Monday rejected a referendum to extend President Nursultan Nazarbayev's rule until 2020 on grounds it was unconstitutional. However, it left it up to the president to make a final decision.
“The law adopted by parliament does not correspond to the constitution," the Constitutional Council's chief justice Igor Rogov said, referring to a decision by parliament earlier this month that paved the way for the referendum that would have given Nazarbayev an opportunity to extend his presidency. Nevertheless, “the final word over the fate of the referendum rests with the head of state," he added.
Nazarbayev became the leader of Soviet Kazakhstan in 1984. When the Central Asian nation became independent in 1991, he continued to be its president.
The idea of a referendum to allow the president to run again came apparently from the “grassroots” at end of December, and found widespread support in the population. Five million Kazakhs in a country of 16 million people signed the petition in support of the proposal.
Nazarbayev himself presented the law adopted by parliament, where all members are from his own party, on 17 January.
On Saturday, the 71-year-old president in his annual address to the nation said that he plans to stay on “for as long as my health allows me”.