Referendum to extend Kazakh President’s term declared unconstitutional
A proposed referendum to extend the term of Kazakhstan's long-serving president was ruled unconstitutional on Monday, according to the country's top constitutional court.
The parliament of the sprawling Central Asian republic this month unanimously passed legislation calling for a referendum on allowing President Nursultan Nazarbayev to stay in office at least another decade.
But the head of the country's constitutional Council, Igor Rogov, said the body has ruled the measure does not conform to the constitution.
The Kazinform news agency cited Rogov as saying the measure was rejected because of imprecise wordings. It was not immediately clear if that left the way open for a reworded proposal to be submitted.