The Political System of Sovereign Kazakhstan

The main state law, the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was adopted in 1995. Kazakhstan is a unitary country with a presidential form of government which proclaims itself as a democratic, secular, legal and social state. Only citizens of the Republic by birth, not younger than 40, those who speak the state language fluently and who have been living in Kazakhstan for not less than 15 years can be elected President. The President of the Republic is elected for a seven-year term by universal, equal and direct voting. The first President of the Republic, N. A. Nazarbaev, was elected in 1991. In 1995 his term was extended by national referendum.

Parliament is the highest representative body that performs legislative functions. Parliament consists of two permanent chambers: the Senate and the Mazhilis. The Senate is formed by 47 deputies (seven deputies are appointed by the President, two people are elected from each of the 20 regions). Mazhilis consists of 67 deputies elected by one-mandate territorial districts. The period between parliamentary elections is four years. The Government implements the executive power in the country. It is headed by the Prime Minister who is appointed by the president. The Government is responsible to the President for its work and is accountable to Parliament.

The judicial system is executed by the Supreme Court and the local courts of the state. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body on civil and criminal cases. The control of constitutional laws is implemented by the Constitutional Council which consists of seven members who are elected for a period of 6 years.

Local representative and executive bodies exercise control over regional matters. Local representative bodies (Maslihats) express the will of the population of the corresponding administrative territorial units. An oblast’s (region’s) administrative government is led by an Akim who oversees executive power in each oblast. The oblast Akims are appointed by the President with assistance from the Prime Minister’s nomination.

17. Answer the questions:

1. What is the main law of the state? 2. Who can be elected the President of Kazakhstan? 3. How can the President of the Republic be elected? 4. What is the highest representative body of the country? 5. What does Parliament perform? 6. What does Parliament consist of? 7. Who forms the Senate? 8. How are the deputies of Mazhilis elected? 9. Who implements the executive power in the country? 10. Who is the Government headed by? 11. What do you know about our judicial system?

12. What are the functions of local representative and executive bodies?

18. Find English equivalents:

президентская форма правления; всеобщее равноправное прямое голосование; местные представительские органы; высший представительный орган; осуществлять контроль над проблемами; назначаться президентом; продлить срок путем проведения референдума; парламентские выборы; осуществлять законодательные функции; исполнительская власть; одномандатный территориальный округ; быть подотчетным президенту.

19. Match a word with its definition:

20. Read and translate the text:

The UK Parliament

The UK Parliament has sometimes been referred to as ‘the mother of parliaments’ because some of the countries that used to be part of the British Empire have political systems modeled on it. The UK Parliament building, which is situated by the river Thames in central London, is perhaps the most famous in the world. This is mainly due to its distinctive architecture, including the impressive clock tower popularly known as “Big Ben”. What most people don’t know is that the name doesn’t actually refer to the whole tower, but only to the huge bell inside the top of the tower.

The current Parliament building was constructed in the 19^th century, but one of the very first English Parliaments actually met on the same site in 1265. In those days only a very small number of people had any say in how the country was run. Democracy in the modern sense of the word is a recent phenomenon; it wasn’t until 1918 that all over 21 in the UK got the right to vote in elections, and it was in 1928 that the same right was given to women.

The Parliament building is usually referred to as the Houses of Parliament because it contains the two assemblies at the heart of the UK political system: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Most of the power lies with the House of Commons, which consists of 646 democratically elected Members of Parliament or MPs, each of whom represents a small area of the UK known as a constituency. The members of the House of Lords are not elected – most of them have been appointed by the current or previous governments.

The UK Prime Minister is the leader of the political party with the most MPs in the House of Commons. Due to the UK voting system, the number of MPs a party has in the House of Commons, is not necessarily proportional to the total number of votes the party gets in a general election. This means that one party usually gets a ‘majority’ in the House of Commons, meaning it has more MPs than all the other parties put together. As with most things in politics, this causes a lot of disagreement. Some people think it is good that the party that wins a general election can usually form a government without having to enter into a ‘messy’ coalition with any other party. However others think the system is unfair, particularly because the smaller parties end up with fewer seats in Parliament than they would have under a proportional system.

21. Find the words in the text that mean the same:

unusual / individual centre / core

extremely big untidy

an organized political group one of a group

to be given a job / position location / place

existing / happening now build / establish

22. Say whether the following statements are true or not:

1. England was the first country in the world to have a parliament. 2. The UK Prime Minister is the leader of one of the political parties in the House of Commons. 3. The members of the House of Commons are not elected. 4. The House of Commons has more members than the House of Lords. 5. The current UK Parliament building was built in 1908. 6. Unlike the UK, most countries in the world have a ‘proportional’ voting system. 7. The Labour Party currently has the most MPs in the House of Commons.

23. There are mistakes in these excerpts. Find them and make the necessary corrections:

1. The UK Parliament has sometimes been referred as the ‘mother of parliaments’.

2. There are very few people who had any sayings in how the country is run.

3. The UK Parliament building is perhaps the most famous in the world.

4. The House of Commons consist of 646 democratically elected Members of Parliament.

24. Read the text and translate the phrases in bold type:

Kazakhstan is a unique country. Nowhere in the world there is such a variety of landscapes and natural resources. In the nearest future Kazakhstan intends to enter 50 the most Competitive Countries of the World. Kazakhstan is really attractive for foreign investors. We invite investors to activate their operations in Kazakhstan. We believe that “green investments”, i.e. investments in the most modern, ecologically friendly, applying low-waste technologies will be made in Kazakhstan. We welcome such investments to the republic of Kazakhstan.

25. Read the text:

Our Constitution

The Constitution is the basic law of society and state that expresses the common will of the population, and has the highest judicial power. It strengthens the basic principles and institutions of socio-economic, political and moral spheres of society.

The Constitution is the core law of the state that defines civil and state structures, the electoral system, the principles of management and activity of state authorities, as well as the basic rights and duties of citizens.

The term “Constitution” originates from Latin. It has been used since the 1st century AD to mark judicial acts of ancient Roman emperors. According to the Latin definition, a Constitution represents the fundamental political and legal documents that officially and in strict judicial format recognize as state’s political philosophy and economic doctrine, its attitude towards the individual and individual rights, its concept of civil and state power, and the mechanisms by which this is all implemented.

The first written Constitution – the Constitution of the United States of America was adopted in 1787 and is still in force. In Europe the first written constitutions were adopted in France (1791) and Poland (1791). In December 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved. All former Soviet republics including the Kazakh Soviet Republic declared themselves sovereign independent countries. Before the first Constitution of independent Kazakhstan came into force, there had been three Constitutions.

During a very short period of time, independent Kazakhstan has witnessed two Constitutions. According to Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of RK, “Constitution is the foundation of stability and prosperity of Kazakhstan”. The first Constitution was left as a legacy of the Soviet Union and the second Constitution was a compromise between the future and the past. There were rapid drastic changes in the economy, politics, and people’s minds that resulted in the need for a new Constitution.

On December 16, 1991 the Supreme Council of RK adopted the constitutional law “On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan” that stated that Kazakhstan as an independent State with full legitimacy on all of its territory can conduct its internal and external policy independently. The territory of the former Kazakh SSR has been recognized as the indivisible and inviolable territory of a newly independent state. The State’s power is based on the will of the citizens of Kazakhstan. All citizens of Kazakhstan have equal rights and duties no matter what nationality or ethnic group they might belong to, what their origin, type of occupation, religion, etc. might be.

The Constitution was the first document that outlined the division of State power into three branches: legislative, judicial and executive. On January 28, 1993 the Supreme Council adopted the first Constitution of an independent Sovereign State that contributed to strengthening sovereignty of Kazakhstan, and established new state authorities. However, the new Constitution of Kazakhstan did not cover certain important issues of a newly independent state including governmental and economic issues, the issue of human rights and liberties. The issue of public administration was not fully solved. The Supreme Council had unlimited functions that interfered with the powers of the Government and the President. The President’s powers were limited, making it difficult for him to conduct reforms. It also hindered the implementation of economic reforms.

Therefore, the issue of redrawing the Constitution came up for discussion. In May 1995, Mr. Nazarbayev convened a council of experts to draw up a new constitution under his guidance. To draft a new Constitution, academicians and specialists in Law, Sociology and Politics studied constitutions of other countries. The Draft was also discussed by the citizens of the RK and about 30 000 suggestions were made. Afterwards a specially established Working Group headed by the President considered every suggestion, and made 1100 amendments to the draft of the Constitution.

The resulting constitution was adopted on August 30, 1995 through a national referendum and ratified the following month. It replaces the earlier “soviet-style” constitution adopted in the wake of independence from the Soviet Union. The Constitution provides for both a democratic, secular state and a presidential system of the government. State governance is divided among the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The President is considered the Head of State.

26. Answer the questions:

1. What is the basic law of the society? 2. What spheres of society are mentioned in the text? 3. What three branches of State power are outlined in it? 4. What does the Constitution define? 5. What is represented in the Constitution? 6. When did our Constitution come into force? 7. What does the Constitution provide?

27. Find and translate sentences with the following:

the concepts of civil and state power; to declare oneself an independent country; foundation of stability and prosperity; to conduct the state policy independently; to be adopted through the national referendum; to provide for a new presidential term; to convene a council of experts; to draw up a new Constitution; to make amendments to the draft.

28. Translate into Russian:

state’s political philosophy; the core law; State governance; to recognize individual rights; to implement power; civil and state structure; to be still in force; to result in the need for; to be dissolved; internal and external policy; rapid drastic changes.

29. Match lines to make word partnerships:

30. Complete the sentences:

1. Being the basic law of society, the Constitution …

2. There are three main spheres of society: …

3. The territory of the former Kazakh SSR …..

4. The Constitution outlined the division of …..

5. The Constitution as the core law of the state …

31. Translate into English:

ветви государственной власти; наметить / определить деление; основываться на воле граждан; равные права и обязанности; проводить реформы; внести на рассмотрение; независимо от национальности и происхождения; вновь образовавшееся независимое государство; внести вклад в укрепление суверенитета; государственные властные структуры; поправка к конституции; мешать выполнению реформ; проект конституции; семилетний президентский срок; президентская система правления.

32. Transcribe the following words:

33. Make up sentences of your own with the following:

to implement the concepts of civil and state power; to declare an independent country; to witness several constitutions; to be dissolved; foundation of stability and prosperity; to recognize individual rights; to conduct the state policy independently; to convene a council of experts.

34. Fill in the gaps with prepositions:

to result ___ the need for smth; to be adopted ___ the national referendum; to be amended to provide ___a new presidential term; rapid drastic changes ___ smth; to make amendments ___ the draft; to be still ___ force.