Kazakh President Announces Plans for Early Termination of Local Councils’ Mandates and New Maslikhat Elections

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced on September 24 that he will move to end the mandates of maslikhats — Kazakhstan’s local representative councils — at all levels and that new elections will be called. Speaking at a session of the newly formed Halk Kenesi (People’s Council), Tokayev said he would first consult with the prime minister and the chairman of the Kurultai before signing a decree to terminate current mandates, after which the Central Election Commission (CEC) would set the date for fresh polls.

Tokayev said the central concern prompting the move is the composition and legitimacy of the current maslikhat membership. "The overwhelming majority of maslikhat deputies were elected from the Amanat party," he said, adding that Amanat has effectively ceased independent activity after joining the Adilet party. "The legal procedures will be completed soon, and from that moment the question of the legitimacy of the majority of the maslikhat deputy corps will arise," he warned.

The president made clear that he intends to follow a formal consultative process. "Therefore, in the near future I will consult with the prime minister and the chairman of the Kurultai on the early termination of powers of maslikhats of all levels, following the results of which I will sign the relevant decree. After that the Central Election Commission will need to determine the date of the upcoming elections," Tokayev said.

Maslikhats are the locally elected representative bodies responsible for expressing the will of residents of Kazakhstan’s administrative-territorial units, approving regional development plans and local budgets, and overseeing aspects of local governance. The last maslikhat elections were held in 2023 under the previous party system. Tokayev’s intervention comes after a period of rapid constitutional and political change that has reshaped Kazakhstan’s institutions.

Following amendments to the constitution earlier this year, Kazakhstan held elections for a new unicameral parliament, called the Kurultai, and established the Halk Kenesi as a new constitutional consultative body. The president has described these steps as a broad transformation of the state governance system intended to bring institutions into line with current needs and challenges.

The announcement raises immediate questions about the future balance of political representation at the local level. The consolidation of politicians initially elected under the Amanat banner into the Adilet party — a move the president says rendered Amanat inactive — is central to Tokayev’s stated legitimacy concerns. Bringing forward new elections would reset the partisan composition of local councils and could affect how regional development priorities and budgets are determined.

The Central Election Commission will be responsible for establishing a timetable and the practical arrangements for the new maslikhat votes once the presidential decree is issued. Tokayev did not specify exact dates for consultations or for the signing of the anticipated decree, and neither the prime minister nor the chairman of the Kurultai have issued immediate public comments on the proposal.

Observers of Kazakhstan’s political system will be watching how the process unfolds, including whether the steps taken adhere to legal and constitutional procedures and how they affect political pluralism and local governance. For residents and local officials, early termination of maslikhat mandates and the prospect of new elections could mean a significant reconfiguration of local power structures and lines of accountability.

This development follows the government’s broader program of institutional reform and comes at a moment when questions of legitimacy, party alignment and electoral integrity are salient for Kazakhstan’s evolving political landscape. The president’s announcement at the Halk Kenesi session marks the opening of a procedural sequence that could lead to nationwide local elections in the months ahead, pending the consultations and formal actions he described.