Saturday, December 03, 2005
What Is A Constituent Assembly?
Constituent Assembly
Constituent Assembly
Some Facts of Constituent Assembly Constituent Assembly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A constituent assembly is a body elected with the purpose of drafting, and in some cases, adopting a constitution.
- National Constituent Assembly - formed in 1789 during the French Revolution ..... Following attempts by King Louis XVI and the Second Estate to prevent the delegates from meeting, the new assembly was forced to relocate to a tennis court on June 20; there, it swore the Tennis Court Oath, promising to draft a new constitution for France...... The Assembly re-named itself the National Constituent Assembly on July 9, and began to function as a governing body and a constitution-drafter....... Following the storming of the Bastille on July 14, the National Constituent Assembly became the effective government of France. In the words of historian François Mignet, "The assembly had acquired the entire power; the corporations depended on it; the national guards obeyed it... The royal power, though existing of right, was in a measure suspended, since it was not obeyed, and the assembly had to supply its action by its own." .....
- Russian Constituent Assembly - formed in January 1918 during the Russian October Revolution ..... The Bolsheviks took the position that the workers' councils (known in Russian as soviets) were the only legitimate form of government (the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin's slogan prior to the revolution was "All Power to the Soviets!"), and while they permitted elections to continue they did not accept the ultimate authority of the Constituent Assembly to decide on an alternative form of government....... In the election to the Constituent Assembly (the first fully democratic parliamentary election in Russian history), Lenin's Bolsheviks received between 22% and 25% of the vote in that election, while the Socialist-Revolutionary Party received 40%...... A peaceful demonstration in support of the assembly was shot at and dispersed by troops loyal to Bolsheviks. A motion by the Bolsheviks that should have made the assembly powerless was voted down. The Bolsheviks and their allies then walked out and the next day declared the Constitution Assembly dissolved.
- Constituent Assembly of India - formed on 9 December 1946 to write the Constitution, and serve as India's first Parliament, dissolving on 26 January 1950 when India became a republic. The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and served as its first Parliament as an independent nation. It was elected by millions of Indian adults and by universal suffrage. It first met on December 9, 1946, while India was still under British rule. At this point, the Constituent Assembly became the Provisional Parliament of India, until the first elections under the new Constitution took place in 1952.
- South Africa: Post-Apartheid
How many seats will that constituent assembly have? Will those seats be allocated based on equal population? Or what? There has to be some open discussion on this topic by the seven parties and then the Maoists. How long will that assembly take to do its work?
If the seven parties were to ditch the House revival stance and instead get wholeheartedly behind the constituent assembly idea, that would speed things up. (Political Reasons Against House Revival)
The very fact that noone has suggested the 1999 House should be revived so it can become the constituent assembly shows that is not even an idea. The fundamental flaw of the 1999 House is that its 205 seats are not marked based on equal population.
The Nepali experience of a constituent assembly is likely to be different from that of other countries in the past, be it France, Russia, India, or South Africa.
I keep coming back to an alternate proposal: 40 Reasons Why The Three Forces Should Come Ar0und To My Proposed Constitution.
The beauty of my proposal is that it can be done in three steps.
- The seven parties engage in an open debate on it. They accept it.
- Then they engage the Maoists in an open debate on the topic.
- After those eight parties come around to it, they give the king an invitation to come around to it. If he does not come along, that would be recipe for a showdown, a non-violent revolution.
On the other hand, you are looking at an interim constitution and an interim government, and then elections to a constituent assembly, likely a body of perhaps 300 individuals, representing seats that are roughly equal in population.
One pitfall I see from the 12 point agreement is that the Maoists might try to pull a Lenin on the idea. They can't. They will not be able to. That is another story. But we have to watch out.
The 12 Point Agreement Succeeds The 4 Point Program
Especially since there are so many different variables that will come into play, and bringing the king to the idea of an interim government is no small task, it is important for the seven parties to achieve as much clarity as possible now. But there does not seem to be a mechanism in place.
There is need of a permanent committee of seven members. I can see why the three large parties might not be too excited about the idea, but they could devise a voting mechanism. You could have a seven strong permanent committee where the voting powers are as follows.
UML: 35, NC: 25, NC (D): 20, NSP (A): 5, NMKP: 5, Jana Morcha: 5, Left Front: 5. For a total of 100.
That committee would keep banging heads until they achieved as much clarity as possible for the roadmap to a new constitution for the country. Is that an idea?
The first order of business would be to have an open discussion on the House revival idea.
The idea of achieving clarity is not that you are already there, but it is that it helps you get there. There is no one catch slogan right now.
A lack of clarity strengthens the king. He has a roadmap for the next two years. Do we? We can not be moving one week at a time. If we do, he wins. As February 8 approaches, the first thing that will happen is the NC will undergo yet another vertical split. That faction might try to validate the king's move.
Achieving clarity within the seven party coalition now will also show the same group will also be capable of handling the more arduous task of a constituent assembly. The will to engage in political dialogue is the will to peace.
In The News
Royalists party activists clash in Baneshwore NepalNews
Radio Sagarmatha moves to court for the second time
Bista flays foreign intervention
Upon return to the country, King insists on his own `roadmap’
Parties, NHRC hail extension of ceasefire
Tens of thousands of people take part in UML’s rally; minor scuffle reported
Maoists extend ceasefire for one more month
To counter the King, India engineered party-Maoist deal: Minister Koirala
Maoist rebels extend ceasefire in Nepal CBC News, Canada
Nepal rebels extend truce as anti-king rally starts
Annan welcomes Communist rebels' extension of ceasefire in Nepal
Nepal Communist Party (UML) shows its strength in Kathmandu. ... United We Blog, Nepal
Thousands turn out for UML mass meet
Nepal police arrest 18 Tibetan refugees Press Trust of India, India
Guff Gaff with Kishore Nepal Kathmandu Post, Nepal
Riots grip Kathmandu before King Gyanendra's arrival Asian Tribune, Thailand
Scientists to check Nepal Buddha boy
NC Leader Flouts Party Line to Break New Ground
Dispute within People’s Front PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal
Further debate essential in 12-point agreement: Bijukchhe
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