President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on 18 September 2026 reappointed Elvira Azimova as Chair of the Constitutional Court, Nurlan Abdirov as Chair of the Central Election Commission and Alikhan Smailov as Chair of the Supreme Audit Chamber. All three retained their posts.
WHY THE APPOINTMENTS TOOK PLACE
According to the Central Communications Service under the President, on 18 September 2026 Tokayev signed three decrees.
Elvira Azimova, Nurlan Abdirov and Alikhan Smailov have been reappointed to leadership positions.
Azimova has headed the Constitutional Court since 1 January 2023, Abdirov — the Central Election Commission since 25 January 2022, Smailov — the Supreme Audit Chamber since 1 April 2024.
The decisions were taken after the opening of the first session of the first-convocation Kurultai on 28 August 2026. The transitional provisions of the new Constitution provide for the appointment of heads of agencies within two months of the opening of the session.
WHAT WAS DISCUSSED AROUND AZIMOVA
Before the Constitutional Court, Elvira Azimova was Commissioner for Human Rights. In March 2021 she called kettling, as used by police, a security measure, after which human rights defenders publicly criticised her position. After the January events of 2022, the Ombudsman received complaints from detainees about human rights violations.
WHAT COMPLAINTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ABDIROV
Under Nurlan Abdirov, the transparency of the consideration of election complaints was discussed. Before the Mazhilis elections in March 2023, the CEC received 451 appeals, responded to 223, and forwarded 190 to other state bodies. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) noted that the content of the appeals and the decisions on them were not published, and the process of considering complaints was insufficiently transparent.
After the elections of Kurultai deputies on 23 August 2026, OSCE ODIHR once again drew attention to the transparency of the CEC's work: at most of the observed meetings, decisions were taken unanimously without substantive discussion. At the same time, observers noted the live broadcasts of meetings and measures to inform voters.
WHAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH SMAILOV
Alikhan Smailov headed the Government in 2022–2024, and since April 2024 has headed the SAC.
After the resignation of the Government in February 2024, MPs linked his work to insufficient momentum in the implementation of reforms. Mazhilis deputy Pavel Kazantsev said that Smailov «failed to create momentum» in the Government's work and to establish team interaction.
Already as Chair of the SAC, Alikhan Smailov criticised the execution of the budget and the work of state bodies for 2023 — the period when he himself headed the Government. According to his data, 489 billion tenge of budget funds were used inefficiently. He also pointed to low absorption of funds under national projects, violations of the deadlines for implementing investment projects and problems with budget discipline.
