Kazakhstan's Senate has held its final plenary session, marking the end of nearly three decades of the upper chamber's existence. On July 1, 2026, the country's new Constitution, approved in a nationwide referendum in March, officially enters into force, bringing an end to Kazakhstan's bicameral parliamentary system. It will be replaced by a unicameral legislative body, the Kurultai. Under the new constitutional framework, the president is required to call elections within one month of the Constitution taking effect, while the vote itself must be held within the following two months.

The final Senate session carried strong symbolic significance. Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev thanked lawmakers for their years of service and emphasized that the upper chamber had played a crucial role in the development of Kazakhstan's modern statehood by ensuring legislative stability and strengthening the country's institutional framework. During the session, senators completed consideration of the remaining legislative bills, formally concluding the chamber's work before its dissolution.

The Senate was established in 1996 following the adoption of the 1995 Constitution and served as the upper house of Parliament for nearly thirty years. It included representatives from all regions of the country, while a number of senators were appointed by the president to ensure a balance between regional interests and the central government. Throughout its existence, the Senate reviewed and approved thousands of legislative initiatives, participated in the appointment of senior state officials, and exercised a range of constitutional powers related to the judiciary and other key state institutions.

The abolition of the Senate forms part of a comprehensive constitutional reform initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In addition to replacing the bicameral legislature with a unicameral system, the new Constitution introduces broader changes to the structure of state governance, redistributes institutional powers, and establishes the Kurultai as the country's sole legislative body. According to the new model, the parliament will consist of 145 deputies, who are expected to be elected later this summer.

Shortly before the Senate's final session, members of both parliamentary chambers convened for their last joint meeting, effectively drawing the curtain on Kazakhstan's previous legislative system. The Mazhilis reported that during its final parliamentary session lawmakers held 40 plenary meetings, considered more than 330 agenda items, and adopted over 100 laws that laid the legislative foundation for implementing the constitutional reform.

Political analysts describe the ongoing transformation as the most significant institutional overhaul of Kazakhstan's political system since the adoption of the 1995 Constitution. Supporters of the reform argue that the transition to a unicameral parliament will accelerate the legislative process by eliminating the need for bills to pass through two separate chambers. At the same time, the new system places greater responsibility on a single representative body for the quality of legislation, as the mechanism of inter-chamber parliamentary oversight will no longer exist.

Experts also note that the abolition of the Senate fundamentally changes the system of regional representation. Previously, regional interests were institutionally represented by senators; under the new framework, those interests will be incorporated directly into the work of the Kurultai through a redesigned mechanism for forming the legislature. Whether the new institutional model can effectively compensate for the absence of an upper chamber will become clear only after the first months of the Kurultai's operation, following parliamentary elections expected to take place in August 2026.

CCBS Expert Group

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29.06.2026 12:31