During the development of the new version of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the provision regarding the use of the Russian language was changed. This was reported by Bakyt Nurmukhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court, at the tenth meeting of the working group.
The specific changes affect Article 9. In the initial version proposed on January 31, it was stated that the Russian language in state institutions and local government bodies is used "on par" (Kaz. тең) with Kazakh. However, in the final document, this wording was changed.
"In Article 9, the word 'тең' (equal) was replaced with 'қатар' (alongside)," Nurmukhanov explained. Thus, in the final version, the text now contains the expression "alongside" instead of "on par."
The representative of the Constitutional Court noted that the changes made are editorial and stylistic in nature. He added that the main goal was to achieve consistency in terminology and meaning throughout the document.
The work on the draft of the new Constitution was carried out by a broad expert group, which included representatives of the executive and legislative branches, staff from the presidential administration, as well as leading lawyers and linguists of the country.
