[16][17] To be approved, the proposed amendments had to garner the absolute majority of all votes, including blank and invalid ones, on the national level as well as in two-thirds of the 17 regions and autonomous cities, and a minimum turnout of 50% of registered voters.

[25] Amidst the colour revolutions that took place in former Soviet republics, several opposition parties in late 2004 established the Coordinating Council of Democratic Forces of Kazakhstan, led by former Mazhilis chairman Zharmakhan Tuyakbay.

[39] As protests broke out in the city of Zhanaozen initially over a sharp increase in liquefied petroleum gas prices in early January, massive discontent quickly spread throughout Kazakhstan.

[40][41] They demanded economic, social, and–more importantly–political reforms, ranging from a full parliamentary system with an executive prime minister to simply a return to the previous 1993 constitution that retained stronger checks and balances.

[48] Tokayev then suppressed the riots with government and allied Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) troops, leaving official estimates of hundreds dead and over $2 billion worth of damages.

He announced a new package of political reforms that would be prepared "on the basis of a broad and constructive dialogue with civil society and experts," and be presented in the upcoming annual State of the Nation Address originally intended for September 2022.

[52] Despite Tokayev's conciliatory remarks, the Human Rights Watch continued to report numerous cases of prison torture, ill-treatment and custody deaths towards both Kazakh protestors and bystanders.

[54][55][56][57] On 29 January 2022, in an interview with Khabar Agency, President Tokayev revealed that he was "seriously thinking" about reforming "parliamentary and party system" in Kazakhstan and hoped to serve as a "magnet that brings different social and political forces to a common mark on their position".

[65][66][67] U.S. diplomat Uzra Zeya, serving as an Under-Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, during a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi in an April 2022 visit to Nur-Sultan, welcomed the proposed changes and expressed the United States' interest in assisting Kazakhstan on the full implementation of Tokayev's reforms.

[70] Justice Minister Qanat Musin presented the National Plan, which included proposed changes to the Constitution that were brought up by Tokayev in an address with development of a draft being set for completion in April 2022.

[75] Chairman of the lower house Mazhilis, Erlan Qoşanov, called on all MPs to join the work on implementing constitutional changes, noting the importance of individual legislators' initiative in drafting amendments.

[79] Mazhilis chairman Erlan Qoşanov refused to change the import of Elbasy status,[80] and Justice Minister Qanat Musin in April 2022 also dismissed any possibilities for the ministry itself to amend the law, noting that the decision would be left up to parliamentarians.

[82][83] This proposal sparked huge backlash among critics and public figures; most notably, Olzhas Suleimenov argued that Nazarbayev wasn't solely responsible for Kazakhstan's independence and that its sovereignty instead was automatic following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

[100] According to Tokayev, the reasoning in holding a direct suffrage was due to "large-scale and significant changes" that would determine Kazakhstan's future upon the ratification of the constitutional amendments, adding that it would present a "vivid demonstration of the will of the people".

[101] Dmitry Fetisov, a Russian political scientist from Izvestia, suggested that Tokayev decided to hold a referendum to compete with neighbouring Uzbekistan for Western approval and that a direct vote by the citizens on amending the constitution would solve several problems in "changing the structure of clans in the republic".

Senator and chairman of the Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party Äli Bektaev described the move as a "right and just decision in terms of legal, political equality and even national security.

"[105] Azat Peruashev, member of the Mazhilis and Ak Zhol Democratic Party chairman, assessed that a referendum is "the only right step in a situation where the initiated political reforms need to unite the citizens of the republic and enlist the support of not only the parliament, but also the entire people of the country.

"[107] Mazhilis chairman and newly elected leader of the ruling Amanat (formerly Nur Otan) party Erlan Qoşanov called Tokayev's suggestion a "historical decision that has been thoroughly analyzed", stressing the importance of the public taking part the referendum.

[134] Muqaşev claimed that the newly adopted changes to the constitution would lead to the development of "political pluralism and a competitive democratic environment" and that the organisation would campaign in all regions of Kazakhstan including remote parts of the country as well.

It declared that the proposed initiatives and political modernisation schemes are consistent with the QHP's ideology and programme, particularly the party's aim to make Kazakh citizens the nation's "owners of land and natural resources".

[160][161] The number of Kazakh electorate willing to show up to the polls was marked with importance as the proposed amendments need to gather the absolute majority of all votes, including blank and invalid ones, on the national level as well as in two third of the 18 regions and autonomous cities, and a minimum turnout of 50% of registered voters for them to be adopted.

[174] Several protests against referendum took place on voting day, with Darhan Şäripov, an activist of the "Oyan, Qazaqstan" movement being detained by the Almaty police after holding a single picket in Arbat with signs written in both Cyrillic and Latin letters that read "Реконституция" ("Reconstitution") and "Qandy Qantar.

[177] Security measures were also spotted throughout the cities in Kazakhstan, specifically the location points where the opposition called for unsanctioned rallies to be held as heavy unexplained police presence including buses and paddy wagons cordoning off the public spaces.

2529 in Almaty, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporters revealed several voters who were employees of state institutions taking photos to provide to their employers as evidence that they showed up and voted in the referendum.

[183] Elvira Äzimova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Kazakhstan, at a briefing commented about rumours regarding the rules of voting in which she cited an audio message recorded by an unknown person that called on Kazakh citizens to request for 33 ballots each at the polling station and write on paper the norms that they disagree with the amendments.

[184] A video supposedly showing a voter being given a disappearing ink pen at the polling booths to mark the ballot and then subsequently burning it with fire surfaced on social media in which Stopfake.kz, a fact checking website, dismissed it as being an old footage which first appeared in 2019 as it had notably gone viral previously in other countries.

[206] It was also viewed as a blow to former president Nursultan Nazarbayev's legacy as his grip of maintaining influence and power over the state came to an end with the removal of a constitutional title in being the "Elbasy" ("leader of the nation"), a move that could open doors for a potential criminal prosecution against him.

[207] According to political scientist Dosym Satpaev, the referendum served as a "mini-rehearsal of the upcoming presidential elections" set to take place in 2024 for the Kazakh government to actively promote New Kazakhstan policy made by Tokayev.

[208] Luca Anceschi, professor of Eurasian Studies at the University of Glasgow, pointed out that the previous 1995 constitutional referendum was "a power consolidation tool" under President Nazarbayev and that the case would remain under Tokayev's Kazakhstan as well.

[209] In a written article to The Loop under European Consortium for Political Research, Bakhytzhan Kurmanov, an assistant professor at the International School of Economics in KazGUU University, feared that Tokayev's reforms would prefigure Kazakhstan's democratisation and lead to an emergence of an IT-backed authoritarianism in the country, citing the use of massive digital campaign by the Kazakh government during the referendum.