What the Constitution guarantees
Article 35 guarantees the right to submit individual and collective appeals to state bodies and local self-government bodies. This is the basic constitutional guarantee for communicating with public authorities.
Article 60 separately names the holders of legislative initiative: the President, Kurultai deputies, the Government, and the People's Council. Citizens are not directly included in that list.
How petitions are governed
The petition process is established not by a separate constitutional rule, but by Chapter 12-1 of the Administrative Procedural Code.
- a draft petition is submitted through a state-designated internet resource or in writing;
- at least 50 citizens must join within 20 working days before the draft is made publicly available;
- after publication, support may be collected for up to six months;
- the threshold depends on the addressee: 50,000 votes are required for a matter within a central state body's competence, while different thresholds apply locally;
- a supported petition is reviewed within 40 working days at central level and 20 working days at local level;
- the final decision must give reasons and be published on the internet resource.
What should not be confused
A petition may trigger review by the competent authority and a public, reasoned decision. It does not automatically become a bill and does not create a separate citizen right of legislative initiative.
Administrative Procedural Code, Chapter 12-1: Articles 90-1–90-6