The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the 8th convocation (; ) is the current

convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...

of the

Parliament of Kazakhstan The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the bicameral legislature of Kazakhstan, consisting of the upper house, the Senate, and the lower house, the Mäjilis. Both chambers conduct legislative sessions at the Parliament House in the cap ...

. Following the 2023 legislative election to the lower house

Mäjilis The Mäjilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan (; ), commonly shortened as Mäjilis or Mazhilis ( Kazakh Cyrillic: Мәжіліс , 'Assembly'), is the lower house of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, alongside the upper house Senate ...

, where the composition of the parliament was determined through

mixed-member majoritarian representation Mixed-member majoritarian representation (MMM) is type of a mixed electoral system combining winner-take-all and proportional methods, where the disproportional results of the winner-take-all part are dominant over the ''proportional'' compon ...

for the first time since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, a total of 98 Mäjilis deputies were elected with 69 from

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a system of proportional representation based on preregistered Political party, political parties, with each party being Apportionment (politics), allocated a certain number of seats Apportionm ...

and 29 representing the newly reestablished single-mandate territorial constituencies. Since the 3rd Mäjilis, more than three parties had managed to overcome the 5%

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...

, leading to the Mäjilis consisting of six parties forming their own factions. The 8th Parliament of Kazakhstan was first convened in its plenary session on 29 March 2023, under a presidential decree briefly signed by

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakhstani politician and diplomat who has served as the second president of Kazakhstan since 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 ...

8th Mäjilis

Leadership

The leadership consisted of the Bureau of the Mäjilis, a coordinating body formed under the

Chairman of the Mäjilis The Chairman of the Mäjilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan (; ) is a presiding officer of the lower house Mäjilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, and is responsible for opening sessions, preside over regular and extraordinary ...

. The bureau includes deputy chairmen, chairmen of the standing committees, as well as heads of parliamentary factions of political parties represented in the Mäjilis. The first plenary session of the new Mäjilis convocation is opened and chaired by the chairman of the

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(

Nurlan Äbdirov Nūrlan Mäjitūly Äbdırov (; born 12 January 1961) is a Kazakh politician who is the chairman of the Central Election Commission (Kazakhstan), Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Chairman of the Senate o ...

) until a Mäjilis Chairman is elected, who opens, conducts and closes plenary sessions of the chamber. The chairman of Mäjilis is accompanied by deputy chairmen who perform his or her individual functions.

Chairmanship election

Erlan Qoşanov Erlan Jaqanūly Qoşanov (, ; born 14 August 1962), sometimes romanized as Yerlan Koshanov, is a Kazakh politician who is serving as the member and Chairman of the Mäjilis, chairman of the Mäjilis since 2022. Prior to that, he served as the Pres ...

's chairmanship was endorsed by Amanat deputy

Baktykozha Izmukhambetov Baqtyqoja Salahatdinūly Izmuhambetov (, ''Baqtyqoja Salahatdinūly Izmūhambetov''; born 1 September 1947) is a Kazakh politician who is currently serving as a Member of the Mäjilis since March 2023 from the Amanat party. Izmuhambetov used to s ...

during the opening convocation of the 8th Mäjilis. His candidature was unimously supported by all factions, thus making running uncontested to the post. In a subsequent parliamentary vote, Qoşanov was officially re-elected as the chairman of Mäjilis from all present 98 votes.

Factions

Six parties managed to overcome the 5%

, thus being able to form their own factions. Seven independents elected from

single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...

s (including two deputies affiliated with Amanat) served as part of unaffiliated caucus.

Committees

The formation of committees and their leaderships were determined by the newly elected deputies during the first meeting in the first plenary session of the 8th Mäjilis on 29 March 2023.

Members

The newly-elected 8th Mäjilis composition included 80 men (81.6%) and 18 women (18.4%). The average age of a member is 48 years old (as of March 2023). Under 35 years old – 12 members; from 35 to 59 years old – 69 members; over 60 years – 17 members. The 8th Mäjilis also included 34 members from previous convocations. Overall, the members represent various fields of activity: civil service, business, non-governmental organizations, education, medicine, etc. The national composition of the 8th Mäjilis is represented by various ethnic groups including Kazakhs, Russians, Germans, Belarusians, and Azerbaijanis.

8th Senate

Leadership

Much like its lower house Mäjilis counterpart, the leadership consists of the Bureau of the Senate, a coordinating body formed under the

Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan The Chair of the Senate of Kazakhstan () is the head of the upper house of the Parliament of Kazakhstan who is responsible for opening sessions, preside over regular and extraordinary joint meetings. The post was created on 30 January 1996 at the ...

. The Bureau includes deputy chairmen and chairmen of the standing committees of the Senate. The Senate chairman is elected from among the Senate deputies by

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

during a Senate meeting in a majority vote. Nominated by the President, the Senate chairman manages Senate sessions, oversees issue preparation, and presents candidates for various positions. They also ensure compliance with Senate rules, coordinate Senate activities, and appoint judges and members of key commissions. The Senate chairman is supported by

deputy chairmen The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

who, on their behalf, fulfill their individual duties and handle assigned tasks.

Parliamentary groups

Members

The 8th Senate term commenced with its first session on 29 March 2023. Members consisted of senators elected in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, alongside those appointed by the

President of Kazakhstan The president of Kazakhstan, officially the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the executive head of state of the Kazakhstan and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As the highest-ranking official ...

in 2022 and 2023, all continuing their terms.

References

{{Reflist

External links

On the results of the activities of the VII elected Mäjilis
at the official website of Mäjilis (in Kazakh)
Results of the activities of the Senate
at the official website of the Senate (in Kazakh) Convocations of the Parliament of Kazakhstan 2023 in Kazakhstan