Kazakhstan referendum may bolster Tokayev's second-term ambitions

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/File Photo

ALMATY (Reuters) - A referendum on constitutional reform to decentralise power in Kazakhstan this week after unprecedented turbulence could help President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev build political capital for a second term in the oil-rich country allied with Russia.

Kazakhs are expected to vote in favour of the reforms on Sunday, after a government media campaign that said the changes would make the vast Central Asian country of 19 million people more democratic.