The Public Chamber of Kazakhstan [1]

The Public Chamber under the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a consultative body, established in order to incentive and coordinate contributions from civil society to the law-making process. 

The project was initiated by President Nazarbayev, who launched the idea at the second Civil Society Forum, in September 2005. A first Chamber of 25 members started working in March 2006, but it was replaced by a reorganized body in November 2007. Meant to work as a “social platform” (obshestvennaya ploshadka) the new chamber has 30 members both from political parties and civil society organizations.

Several politicians, also from the opposition, were invited to join the Chamber in 2007. Members included Gani Kasimov (Party of Patriots), Vladislav Kosarev (Communist Party), Altynshash Zhaganov (“Rukhaniyat”), Maksut Narikbayev (Adilet) and Mels Eleusizov (environmental fund Tabigat).[2] In presence of a one-party Mazhilis (in the August 2007 elections the pro-presidential party Nur Otan had obtained the totality of seats in the lower Chamber of the Parliament) the choice of inviting other parties’ leaders was probably made to introduce at least an element of pluralism in the legislative process. This pluralism was only symbolic, as the Chamber’s recommendations are of merely consultative nature.

The main objectives of the Public Chamber are the examination of draft laws; elaborating proposals and recommendations on developing and reviewing bills, as well as forecasting possible consequences of making and implementing laws [2]. The Chamber has issued recommendations on the most different law projects, regarding the protection of human rights, the development of entrepreneurship and the elaboration of a national doctrine.

Despite its diverse composition and the much advertised pluralist nature, the Chamber is actually dominated by exponents of the pro-presidential party Nur Otan, who often act as chairperson. Several times, actually, Nur Otan has been invited to exploit the potential of the Public Chamber in order to carry on its program.

The Public Chamber of Kazakhstan has developed a close cooperation with its Russian equivalent, signing a memorandum of understanding in 2008 [4].

[1] This is the first of a series of posts on Kazakhstan’s less known public institutions.

[2] http://engnews.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=284833.

[3] http://enu.kz/en/press/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=21657 See also Erlan Aliev, “Institutionalization of a Chamber of Public Experts under the Parliament of Kazakhstan", UNDP 2006

[4] http://www.zakon.kz/60509-podpisan-memorandum-o-vzaimoponimanii.html