ASTANA. Jan 17 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council has opened debates of an inquiry submitted by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, about whether the amendments to the constitution, passed by parliament on January 14, comply with the constitution, an Interfax correspondent reported.
"The Constitutional Council has accepted the president's inquiry into whether the bill to amend and enlarge the constitution, passed by the parliament on January 14, complies with the constitution," the Constitutional Council's acting Vice Chairman Nikolai Belorukov told the Council in Astana on Monday.
Both houses of the Kazakh parliament on January 14 passed a bill to amend and enlarge the constitution. The bill confirms the first Kazakh president's status of national leader (Yel Basy) and supports the idea of holding a referendum to extend his tenure.