Kazakh leader proposes referendum on constitutional reform

FILE PHOTO: Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech during a festival marking Nauryz, an ancient holiday celebrating the spring equinox, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, March 21, 2022. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev

NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) -Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed holding a referendum on constitutional reform, his office said on Friday, instead of running the amendments through parliament.

Tokayev has this year proposed a number of changes to the constitution that would decentralise decision-making in the oil-rich Central Asian nation.