Presidential Terms in Kazakhstan
This chapter tracks the history of changes to presidential terms and term limits of President Nazarbayev, the first and only president of post-Soviet Kazakhstan. We show that the length of presidential terms was changed by Nazarbayev to ensure his longevity in an evolving political situation. He successfully avoided elections when opposition was more consolidated while maintaining plausible periodicity of contests. The two-term limit was manipulated by various means, including a referendum, new constitution, and ultimately exemption from term limits for the First President. These manipulations were enabled by gradual consolidation of Nazarbayev’s regime, which is now marked by nearly total control over the political space. Elections serve as a decorum deployed tactically to ensure symbolic democratic continuity and offer no realistic prospect of unseating the incumbent president.