Today 23 August 2026, citizens across Kazakhstan are electing the first Kurultai under the country’s new Constitution. This is far more than a change in the name of Parliament. The vote will create a new 145-member unicameral legislature with the authority to make laws, represent public interests and serve for the next five years.
For Kazakhstan, the election marks an important stage in a wider process of constitutional and political renewal.
For the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, it highlights a valuable function that receives far less public attention than summits, economic cooperation or regional security: election observation.
Why this election matters
The new Kurultai replaces Kazakhstan’s former bicameral Parliament, which consisted of the Mazhilis and the Senate. Its name carries deep historical meaning.
Across the region’s political tradition, a kurultai was an assembly where leaders and communities gathered to discuss matters of collective importance.
Kazakhstan has brought that familiar concept into a modern constitutional structure.
All 145 deputies are being elected for five-year terms through a nationwide proportional party-list system. Voters choose between political parties, and seats are distributed according to the share of votes each party receives. Seven registered political parties entered the campaign with 545 candidates.
At least 30 per cent of each party list must collectively comprise women, young people and persons with disabilities.
Candidates must be Kazakh citizens aged 25 or above who have lived in the country for the previous ten years.
More than 12.6 million citizens are eligible to vote at over 10,400 polling stations across Kazakhstan and abroad. The process is based on universal, equal and direct suffrage through a secret ballot. Digital services also help citizens check their registration and polling-station details.
Behind these figures is a simple democratic principle. The people of Kazakhstan are choosing the representatives who will shape legislation and give institutional form to the country’s constitutional reforms.
The SCO role few people know about
Kazakhstan is a founding member of the SCO, and the organisation has a long record of observing elections and referendums in the country. The present delegation began its work on 20 August and will remain in Kazakhstan until 24 August under the leadership of SCO Deputy Secretary-General T. R. Midhun.
This is the SCO’s 77th election-observation mission and its 16th in Kazakhstan. The scale of that experience deserves wider recognition.
The SCO began developing its observer-mission regulations in 2004. The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs approved them in 2006. These rules allow the organisation to observe presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as national referendums, in member states and other participating countries that extend an invitation.
An SCO mission brings together representatives of legislative bodies, executive institutions and election commissions from member states, along with Secretariat officials.
Observers meet election authorities, review the legal framework and visit polling stations. Their conclusions come from direct observation, conversations and factual information gathered during the mission.
The work follows the principles of political neutrality, objectivity, respect for national law and non-interference in domestic affairs. These principles reflect the wider SCO culture of mutual respect, sovereign equality and trust among member states.
Why election observation is important
Kazakhstan accredited 777 international observers from 42 countries and 13 international organisations for this election. Their presence reflects the considerable international interest surrounding the formation of the new Kurultai. It also gives election administrators and participating institutions opportunities to share experience, answer questions and demonstrate the procedures established for the vote.
For the SCO, these missions add a practical political dimension to regional cooperation. They connect election officials, encourage professional exchange and help build confidence in public institutions.
This aspect of the SCO deserves greater public awareness. The organisation works through specialised channels that rarely receive the visibility of its annual leaders’ summit. Election observation shows regional cooperation operating directly through laws, procedures, polling stations and citizens.
For Pakistan and other SCO members, Kazakhstan’s election offers a useful opportunity to appreciate the breadth of the organisation’s work. It also shows how the SCO can accompany a member state during an important national process while respecting its laws, choices and constitutional identity.
Today belongs above all to the people of Kazakhstan. Their participation will determine the composition of the country’s highest representative body and the direction of its legislative work.
As Kazakhstan forms its first Kurultai, the country deserves sincere good wishes for a peaceful, transparent and successful election.
The SCO Observer Mission stands alongside this national moment as a sign of regional friendship, institutional cooperation and confidence in the people of Kazakhstan.