Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree on Friday,
declining the parliament’s proposal to hold a referendum on
Constitutional amendments to prolong the president's terms of office
until December 6, 2020, RIA Novosti reports.
The Kazakh Central Electoral Commission registered the referendum
initiative on December 27. According to the law, the referendum must
be approved by the Majilis and then the senate. The Majilis approved
the decision on December 29.
Initiating a referendum required 200,000 signatures of civilians. Over
2.5 million signatures were collected by January 5.
70-year-old President Nazarbayev has been in power for over 20 years.
Kazakhstan held a referendum on prolonging presidential terms in 1995.
The president’s terms in office were prolonged to 1999.
Kazakhstan will hold the next presidential elections in 2012.
Nazarbayev plans to be a candidate.
