Posted on 24 May 2013
Constitutional change must involve a wide range of actors, not just parliament, a New School professor has said on a visit to the EUI.
“I think that higher representation [in the constitutional process] can be achieved through a combination of cooperation and elections,” said Andrew Arato, a professor at the New School for Social Research, on 20 May.
While an elected government may be perceived as the most democratic actor to implement constitutional change or creation, Arato suggested that broader inclusion may be more beneficial.
“Elections exclude and reflect a temporary outcome,” he said, “The constitution is supposed to be for longer than just a short time.” Although the Muslim Brotherhood is in power in Egypt the political party does not in reality represent the Islamic majority in society, Arato argued. Egypt’s new constitution was approved in a referendum in December 2012, with voter turnout at less than 33 per cent.
Organisations that are not represented in parliament should have a say in creating a constitution, Arato said: “Those that represent some politically organised grouping of society, that for some reason never rise to the level of party formation. Women’s parties, for example, that represent a really important politically organised entity.”
A positive example of constitutional change could be seen in Tunisia, Arato said, where an elected National Constituent Assembly is currently working on the new text. This has “the best chance of accomplishing an outcome that is in the strong sense liberal democratic,” he said.
(Text by Rosie Scammell)