The president of Kazakhstan's decorations include a breast mark and a Presidential Standard.
Presidential Standard
The Standard of the President of Kazakhstan is similar to the national flag in that it is rectangular in shape with a ratio of 1:2. In the center of the standard is the Emblem of Kazakhstan. It is bordered on three sides with golden fringe. The current presidential standard has been in service as recently as 2012. The former standard, which was used from 1995-2012, was a light blue rectangle there with a golden circle in which the figure of the young Kazakh leader Sakas riding a snow leopard.
Altyn Qyran Order
The Order of the Golden Eagle is the highest civilian award that can be awarded by the president of Kazakhstan. Its purpose is to recognize outstanding service to the country by Kazakh and foreign citizens. As head of state, the president is de facto Commander special class of the Order of Altyn Kyran.
President in the Constitution
Item 5 of Article 42 of the Constitution determines that no one can be elected president more than two terms in a row, but it also states that "The present restriction shall not extend on the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan." Article 46 says that the president's "honor and dignity shall be inviolable" and that his expenses shall be paid by the state. Item 4 of the article outlines the special status and authority of the first president, and refers to a special constitutional act for definitions. According to this act, the first president possesses total, absolute and termless immunity for all actions he performs while in office, and that he remains a government official until his death. He also retains the ability to speak to the people of Kazakhstan, keeps guards, communication, transport, and state support of his activity, and that his official apartment and summer residence became his property with official maintenance. He is also provided with medical care, sanatorium, pensions and insurance. On April 26, 2015, Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected for his 5th presidential term. The official ceremony of the inauguration took place at the Palace of Independence in Nur-Sultan on April 29. At the inauguration ceremony the re-elected president assured the nation that he would continue the 5 institutional reforms that he had offered earlier, which would contribute to the consistent growth and development of the country. On January 25, 2017, President Nursultan Nazarbayev laid the groundwork for reforms to the constitution that would redistribute executive powers to the parliament and ministries for the purpose of more open and efficient governance.
Presidential Administration
The Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports directly to the president and aids him/her in their everyday dates. It was established in accordance of Presidential Decree No. 2565 on October 20, 1995. It is currently based at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace in the capital city of Nur-Sultan. Prior to that, it was based in Almaty.
Prior to the 2011 election, President Nazarbayev wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post titled "Kazakhstan’s steady progress toward democracy". Kazakhstan's fifth presidential election was held on April 26, 2015. Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected with 97.7% of the vote. A total of 858 observers from 19 countries were present at the polling stations during the election. According to Joseph Misfud, member of the election observation mission from Great Britain and head of the Diplomatic Academy of London, "the elections met all the EU standards". The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other international monitors criticised the election as unfair, with issues noted including the closure of media outlets critical of the government and the jailing of opposition activists. OSCE spokesperson Cornelia Jonker criticised the lack of a "genuine choice" for voters and also argued that there were "significant restrictions to the freedom of expression." The date of Kazakhstan's fifth presidential election is June 9, 2019. It is the first election since the resignation of the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The "No." column consecutively numbers the individuals who have served as president, while the "Elected" column consecutively numbers the presidential terms or administrations.
