Mazhilis

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Mazhilis Mäjılıs Мәжіліс
Type
Type	Lower House of the Parliament of Kazakhstan
History
Founded	1996[1]
Preceded by	Supreme Council
Leadership
Chair	Nūrlan Nyğmatulin, Nur Otan since 22 June 2016
Deputy Chair	Pavel Kazantsev Balaim Kesebaeva
Structure
Seats	107 members
Political groups	Government (84)   Nur Otan (76) Pro-government (9)   Nominated (9) Opposition (22)   Ak Zhol (12)   People's Party (10)
Length of term	5 years
Elections
Voting system	Party-list proportional representation Largest remainder method
Last election	10 January 2021
Next election	2026
Meeting place
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Website
www.parlam.kz/en/

Politics of Kazakhstan
CIS Member State
Constitution Human rights President (list) Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Prime Minister Askar Mamin Security Council Chairman Nursultan Nazarbayev Parliament Senate Chair Mäulen Äşimbaev Mazhilis Chair Nurlan Nigmatulin Political parties Recent elections Presidential 2011 2015 2019 Parliamentary 2007 2012 2016 Administrative divisions Regions (oblıstar) Districts (audandar) Foreign relations Visa policy
Other countries
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The Mazhilis (Kazakh: Mäjılıs, Мәжіліс, also transliterated as Majilis; "Assembly" in Kazakh) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kazakhstan, known as the Parlamenti, in the Government of Kazakhstan. The upper house of Parliament is the Senate of Kazakhstan. There are 107 seats (98+9). Members of Parliament are elected to five-year terms.^[2]

History[]

After the 1995 Kazakh constitutional referendum was held on 30 August 1995 where Kazakhstani voters overwhelmingly approved a new draft of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, a bicameral Parliament was established that included the lower house Mazhilis.^[3]

In the 1995 elections, under the new parliamentary structure, all seats in both houses of parliament were contested in December 1995; runoff elections filled twenty-three seats in the Mazhilis for which the initial vote was inconclusive. International observers reported procedural violations in the Mazhilis voting. The new parliament, which was seated on 30 January 1996, included 68 Kazakh and 31 Russian members; 10 deputies members of which were women.^{[citation needed]}

In the aftermath of the 2004 elections, the Otan became the first party in the Mazhilis to hold the majority of seats which became bigger after the Asar, Civic Party, and Agrarian Party merged with Otan in 2006.

After the constitutional amendments in May 2007, the seats in the Mazhilis were expanded from 77 to 107, which 98 of them were elected through party-list proportional representation that was used for the first time in the 2007 legislative elections.^[4] From there, Nur Otan won all the contested seats, eliminating any opposition in the Mazhilis.^[5]

In the 2012 legislative elections, minor parties which were the Ak Zhol Democratic Party and Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan entered into Mazhilis however Nur Otan maintains its dominant-party control since then.^[6]

Composition[]

The Mazhilis is composed of 107 members of which 9 of the seats are reserved to the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan. Elections of Mazhilis members are held every 5 years unless a snap election is called earlier and are elected through party-list proportional representation with a required 5% electoral threshold to win seats.^[7]

Leadership[]

The Chair of the Mazhilis heads the lower house and is elected by the Mazhilis members. The Mazhilis Chair opens sessions, convenes regular joint sessions and chairs the regular and extraordinary joint sessions of the Parliament.^[8]

The Mazhilis Chair is assisted by two Deputy Chairs who nominates them and are elected by the members of the Mazhilis. The Deputy Chairs of the Mazhilis carry out tasks made by the Chair who take on certain responsibilities if he or she isn't able to.^[8]

Members[]

The term of office of the Mazhilis members is five years. Regular elections for Mazhilis are held no later than two months before the end of the term of office of the current convocation of the Parliament. Snap elections of Mazhilis members are held within two months from the date of the early termination of the powers of the Mazhilis.

A member of the Mazhilis can be a person who has reached 25 years of age, is a citizen of Kazakhstan and has permanently resided in its territory for the last ten years.

Deprivation of a deputy of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the mandate may be made when:

• Withdrawal or expulsion of a deputy from a political party from which, in accordance with the constitutional law, he was elected
• Termination of the activity of a political party, from which, in accordance with the constitutional law, the deputy was elected

Committees[]

The Mazhilis is composed of seven committees:^[9]

• Committee on Agrarian Issues
• Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Reform
• Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security
• Committee on Social and Cultural Development
• Committee on Finance and Budget
• Committee on Issues of Ecology and Environmental Management
• Committee for Economic Reform and Regional Development

Powers[]

According to the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the exclusive jurisdiction of the Mazhilis includes:

• Acceptance for consideration of draft constitutional laws submitted to the Parliament and consideration of these drafts;
• By a majority vote of the total number of deputies of the chamber, giving consent to the President for the appointment of the Prime Minister
• Announcement of the next presidential elections
• Exercise of other powers assigned by the Constitution
• The Mazhilis, by a majority of votes from the total number of Mazhilis members, on the initiative of at least one fifth of the total number of the members, has the right to express a vote of no confidence in the Government

List of Convocations[]

Latest election[]

Results of the 2021 Kazakh legislative election

References[]

External links[]

• Parliament website
• Structure of Kazakhstan's government

Coordinates: 51°10′47″N 71°26′48″E / 51.17972°N 71.44667°E / 51.17972; 71.44667

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