The new Constitution of Kazakhstan, approved in a March 15, 2026 referendum, has been adopted, Central Election Commission Chairman Nurlan Abdirov stated during a session in Astana on March 17 announcing the results. These results are identical to preliminary data reported by the commission on March 16.
A majority of voters, 87.1%, approved the proposed amendments in the referendum, while 898,099 citizens voted against them. The total number of voters was 9.1 million, with 7.9 million voting «yes.» Separately, 127,868 ballots were recognized as spoiled.
«Therefore, the referendum results have been declared valid, and the draft of the new Constitution has been adopted. The corresponding decision, based on the voting results, will be published in the media,» Abdirov said.
According to territorial referendum commissions, 35 reports and inquiries were received on voting day. These concerned the subject of the national referendum, voting procedures, requests to change polling stations, polling station locations, as well as alleged violations of legislation on voting day. Territorial commissions provided responses to 33 of them in accordance with applicable law.
Following voting day, two lawsuits were filed with the referendum territorial commissions:
- The first concerned the illegibility of the tactile ballot overlay in the Aktobe region.
- The second challenged a polling station commission’s decision to remove an observer in Astana.
Both lawsuits were dismissed by the courts, as the plaintiffs’ claims were not upheld. All reports and inquiries received on voting day were handled in accordance with applicable law. Some submissions were purely for clarification or organizational purposes and the lawsuits did not find support during judicial proceedings.
