Читайте этот материал на русском. On March 15 voters cast their ballots in overwhelming favor of a proposed new Constitution.That is, at least, according to official data.The government presented this as the final stage of a “transformation of the state,” which will signal the birth of a “New Kazakhstan.” A number of analysts, however, hold different views.According to them, the new Constitution not only upholds but also strengthens a “superpresidential” model, and makes it significantly more difficult for the public to scrutinize, or even participate in politics.There is growing demand within civil society circles for the right to participate in legislative decisions, for increased transparency in government, and expansion of rights.In response, the government proposes largely inconsequential reforms and referendums which have seemingly already been pre-decided.Should Kazakhstan’s economic situation continue to worsen, it is likely that these tensions will boil over and lead to protests.The new power structures established by the new Constitution are also likely to lead to many of the same issues which arose during the era of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev: namely intra-elite conflicts and greater political instability.Photo by Daniyar Mussirov.Parliament Down, President UpZauresh Battalova, head of the Parliamentarianism Development Fund, argues that the new Constitution will create an even more distorted power vertical in Kazakhstan.The “superpresidential” system established in 1995 has not only been preserved, but further reinforced by reforms initially designed to strengthen Parliament.