Tokayev to Name Kazakhstan’s First Vice President Within Days as New Parliament Convenes

Kazakhstan is about to fill a job that has not existed for three decades.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the country's first Vice President under its new constitution would be named within the next week or 10 days, speaking to journalists after casting his ballot in the 23 August Kurultai elections. That timeline places the announcement in the days immediately following the new parliament's first session, held on 28 August.

He declined to name the appointee but offered a hint. It would be premature to name the person now, he said, adding that he thought it would be a well-known figure whom the public knows well.

Tokayev framed the post as an institutional necessity rather than a personnel decision. The position was deliberately established in the constitution, he said, describing it as extremely necessary and particularly needed by the country in what he called current difficult times.

How the post was created

The vice presidency arrived as part of a broader constitutional overhaul, not as a standalone measure.

Tokayev initiated the changes in March, when 87% of voters backed a referendum to merge Kazakhstan's two parliamentary chambers into one and grant the president authority to appoint key officials, subject to parliamentary approval, including reestablishing the vice presidency. The new constitution took effect on 1 July.

Tokayev has justified the changes by citing the need for rapid decision-making in a fast-changing world.

The parliamentary approval requirement matters for how this unfolds. The 145-member Kurultai convened on 28 August with the Adilet Party holding 110 seats — more than three-quarters of the chamber — after taking over 71% of the vote on a 74% turnout. Four other parties entered: Respublika, Ak Zhol, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party and Auyl.

What else is changing

The appointment sits within a wider set of institutional changes now underway.

Tokayev has said the government will resign and that its composition will change, while stressing there are no grounds for concern about its performance. Personnel changes, he said, are a normal part of government work and should aim to give the cabinet new momentum rather than be made for their own sake.

He has separately announced plans to launch the Qazaqstan Khalyq Kenesi Secretariat, or Kazakhstan People's Council.

Some senior officials have been reappointed rather than replaced, including Timur Suleimenov as Governor of the National Bank.

The question analysts are asking

A newly created deputy presidency invites a question Tokayev has not directly answered.

Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court ruled last month that the constitutional amendments effectively reset the clock on Tokayev's previous terms, opening the door for him to seek another seven-year term. Asked whether he intended to run, Tokayev said the court's decision was lawful and that he legally has the right, but that it was too early to discuss.

Tokayev himself took office in 2019 as the chosen successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who led Kazakhstan from independence in 1991 until his resignation. That transition was arranged by the outgoing president rather than through a contested election.

Whether the new vice presidency is an administrative reform, a succession mechanism, or both is contested, and Tokayev has characterised it solely in the first terms.

What to watch

The name is the immediate question, and Tokayev's "well-known person" formulation has narrowed speculation to the senior ranks of government and the presidential administration.

The second is the Kurultai vote. The appointment requires parliamentary approval, making this the new chamber's first significant test — and with Adilet holding 110 seats, the more informative signal will be the margin and any dissent rather than the outcome.

The third is the vice president's actual powers. The constitution establishes the post; what it does in practice will be defined by the appointee and by how Tokayev chooses to use it.