ALMATY, April 10 (Reuters) – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the president of Kazakhstan, said on Friday that a parliamentary election in the resource-rich Central Asian country would take place in August, but stopped short of naming an exact date.
Kazakhs in March voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting a new constitution to streamline the country’s parliament and recreate the office of vice president.
The changes also reduce the number of chambers in the parliament from two to one.
The new single-chamber parliament will be called the Kurultai, which means “gathering” in Kazakh and is a nod to the country’s steppe traditions. It will host 145 deputies elected for five-year terms.
The current parliament is due to dissolve itself on July 1.
(Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)
