eme Soviet. As head of state; the president could dismiss the Prime Minister and members of the Council of Ministers, but not the legislature or other elected governing bodies; however, a 1996 amendment to the constitution gave the president the power to dissolve the legislature.The president of Kazakhstan is the head of state and is directly elected to a seven-year term. With the approval of the legislature, the president appoints a Prime Minister to head the government. The president also officially confirms the Prime Minister's recommended appointments to the Council of Ministers. Under the constitution the president of Kazakhstan is given extensive powers, including the right to rule by decree and to dissolve the legislature under certain conditions. However, the constitution specifically prohibits the president from being officially affiliated with a political party.Under the 1994 constitution, Belarus was to have a unicameral legislature, the Supreme Soviet, of 260 members elected for a term of five years. However, constitutional amendments passed in 1996, established a bicameral National Assembly, consisting of a 110-member Chamber of Representatives and a 64-member Council of the Republic which replaced the Supreme Soviet. Under the 1993 constitution, Kazakhstan had a unicameral legislature of 177 members, but in 1995 Kazakhstan ratified a new constitution which reconfigured the legislature into two chambers. The Senate (Upper house) and the Majlis (Lower House) with a combined total of 114 members and under the 1998 constitutional amendments, members of the Lower House serve five-year terms, while members of the upper house serve six-year terms. Of the 47 members of the Senate, forty are elected by regional assemblies, special electoral colleges comprised of members of local councils, and the president appoints seven. All 67 members of the Majlis are directly elected.The judicial system of Belarus consists of three high courts:...
