On February 3, Zhandos Shaimardanov, Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KazISS), spoke at a meeting of the Constitutional Reform Commission and shared the results of sociological surveys on public perceptions of the constitutional reform.
In his remarks, the Director of KazISS emphasized that the large-scale constitutional reform launched in October 2025 has, from the very beginning, been implemented based on the principle of direct feedback from citizens.
Zh. Shaimardanov noted that since the publication of the draft of the new Constitution, public discussion has intensified significantly. In particular, the number of citizen submissions through the eOtinish platform has already exceeded 4,000. Proposals have been received from ordinary citizens, experts, and the legal community.
He proposed grouping the incoming questions and initiatives into three key areas: rethinking the role of the Constitution in public consciousness; the importance of strengthening the principles of the rule of law and justice and consistently implementing the “Law and Order” approach; and reaffirming the secular nature of the state and the education system.
Zh. Shaimardanov also shared the results of a sociological survey conducted by the Public Opinion Institute.
The findings show that 79% of respondents consider the ongoing reforms to be timely. At the same time, a significant share of citizens directly link the constitutional changes to improvements in personal well-being and quality of life. Specifically, 65% of respondents are convinced that the proposed changes will have a positive impact on their lives. As a result, an overwhelming majority — 78% of those surveyed — expressed support for the constitutional reform.
“As the results of the independent sociological study demonstrate, the constitutional reform is based on broad civic engagement and public support,” the Director of KazISS concluded.
The Constitutional Commission was established by Presidential Decree on January 21, 2026, to ensure a comprehensive and systematic review of proposals to update the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It comprises 130 members, including Members of Parliament, chairs of maslikhats, heads of media outlets, public figures, representatives of state bodies, regional public councils, as well as experts and members of the academic community.
