The Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan has declared unlawful a proposed referendum on extending Nursultan Nazarbayev's presidential term to 2020, the council's chairman said on Monday.
"A law on the introduction of amendments to the Kazakh constitution, which has been recognized as being against the Kazakh constitution, cannot be signed and put into effect," chairman Igor Rogov said.
"In line with the constitution, the president has the right to file an objection against a Constitutional Council's decision within a month. Thus, the last word on the referendum rests with the head of state," he added.
Earlier in the month, the Kazakh parliament voted unanimously in favor of holding a referendum to extend Nazarbayev's time in office until 2020, bypassing elections due in 2012.
Nazarbayev, who has ruled the Central Asian state since the collapse of the Soviet Union, vetoed parliament's original call for a referendum, but the recent vote overrode his objections.
The EU has condemned plans for the referendum, saying this would go against Kazakhstan's commitment to democracy. It also urged Kazakhstan, which held the OSCE's rotating presidency in 2010, to "continue to strive for regular, free and fair elections in line with its constitution and OSCE commitments."
A group of Kazakh non-governmental organizations has made a public appeal for Nazarbayev to go ahead with the 2012 elections.
In June, the title of "Leader of the Nation" was bestowed upon Nazarbayev by his country's lawmakers. The title gives him a wide range of privileges after the expiry of his presidential term.
The referendum on extending Nazarbayev's presidential term would be the second such case. In 1995, his term, due to expire that year, was extended until December 2000.
ASTANA, January 31 (RIA Novosti)
