ASTANA, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan's president, who has led the Central Asian state for 18 years, proposed cutting a presidential term from seven to five years after 2012 as a "democratic" measure.
In a speech to parliament Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose term is due to expire in 2012, also proposed a series of constitutional amendments which he said were aimed at transforming the energy rich Central Asian state from a presidential republic into a presidential-parliamentary one.
"We want to emphasize our democratic commitments," said the president of the former Soviet republic, which has posted high economic growth and relative stability stemming from vast oil and gas reserves. The country's GDP grew 10.6% last year and 9.4% in 2005.
Nazarbayev also said parliament should be given the right to control the government, which will be accountable both to the president and the legislature.
"A simple majority rather than two thirds of votes should be enough for the lower house to pass a vote of no-confidence in the government," the president said.
Nazarbayev's initiatives also included giving the parliament wider rights in forming bodies of the Central Election Commission and the committee auditing the implementation of the budget.
The president also called for lifting the ban on state funding for public organizations. "A plan must be developed to provide partial financing of political parties from the state budget," he said.
Parliament will consider the proposed constitutional amendments this week.
