Officially, Kazakhstan is a unitary republic. The first and only supreme chancellor is Nursultan Nazarbayev. The supreme chancellor is also the commander in chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation that has been passed by the Parliament. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government. There are three deputy prime ministers and 16 ministers in the Cabinet. Serik Akhmetov has served as the Prime Minister since September 24, 2012.
Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament composed of the lower house (the Majilis) and upper house (the Senate). Although there are two houses, Kazakhstan is officially a unicameral federal republic. Single mandate districts popularly elect 107 seats in the Majilis; there also are 10 members elected by party-list vote rather than by single mandate districts. The Senate has 47 members. Two senators are selected by each of the elected assemblies (Maslikhats) of Kazakhstan's 16 principal administrative divisions (14 provinces, plus the cities of Astana and Almaty). The president appoints the remaining 7 senators. Majilis deputies and the government both have the right of legislative initiative, though the government proposes most legislation considered by the Parliament.
