News Analysis: Controversy persists over Cote d'Ivoire's proposed new constitution

A proposal by Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara to draft a new constitution has opened a floodgate of speculations and assumptions, fuelling controversy among the country's political class and the legal fraternity.

During celebrations to mark Cote d'Ivoire's 56th independence anniversary on Aug. 7, Ouattara said it was imperative to change some constitutional articles which had caused conflicts witnessed in the country in the last two decades.

"The 1999 coup d'etat, the 2002 armed rebellion and the 2010 post-election crisis have exposed the weaknesses of the current Constitution which was adopted in 2000," the president said.

The condition of eligibility to contest for the presidency, especially article 35 that provides for "ivoirite (ivorianness)," which excluded any one who did not have both parents of Cote d'Ivoire origin, was always the genesis of the different crises.

"If we want to finally turn the page of our past, we must learn the lessons from it and write new pages of our history," Ouattara explained.

"To achieve this, we must move forward on the basis of new ideas," he added, calling for a "new social contract."

Ouattara has proposed the creation of the position of vice-president, "elected directly together with the president to guarantee peace and stability."

"In case of a vacancy in the office of the president, the vice-president will guarantee continuity of the state on one hand and respect for electoral calendar on the other," he affirmed.

He further proposed the creation of a senate, hence making Cote d'Ivoire's parliament "bicameral," something he believes will cement the supremacy of the country's parliament.

"All these reforms are aimed at giving Cote d'Ivoire a modern constitution and establish coherent, strong and respected institutions that will be able to protect people's freedoms," Ouattara said.

The president has already set up a committee of experts to come up with a draft constitution.

Even though the experts have not submitted their copy, questions are being raised on the structure of the proposed law and the indications given by the president have raised more speculations.

A REVIEW OR A NEW CONSTITUTION

Immediately after setting up a committee of experts, the former head of the Constitutional Council Francis Wodie blasted the president for his initiative.

According to him, the reforms proposed by the president were illegal because "the current constitution does not have provisions for writing a new supreme law."

"Ask the people to know what they want; whether you want to revise the current Constitution and which articles, or whether you want the country to have a new Constitution, it is the people to decide," he said, calling for a referendum on Ouattara's initiative while at the same time denouncing the "illegitimacy" of the committee of experts.

However, according to Cisse Bacongo, a former minister who is a member of the committee of experts, "the initiative is aimed at writing a new Constitution and not a review of the existing one."

Bacongo said the move by Cote d'Ivoire's president to set up a committee of experts was not isolated case.

"The Constitution of the 5th Republic of France was drafted in the same manner as the current process in our country; through a committee of experts," he said.

His position is supported by Epiphane Zoro, a judge who is close to Ouattara's party, for whom the process initiated by the president respects democratic requirements.

"The president has initiated broad consultations with the civil society, traditional and religious leaders as well as political parties to get their contributions which will be sent to the committee of experts who will be expected to draft the proposed constitution," he said, adding that "Parliament had already passed a referendum law which will allow people to directly express their opinion on the final document."

However, the country's civil society groups have voiced their opposition for the president's initiative, arguing that it was not a priority.

In a statement released recently by the Civil Society Platform for Election Monitoring in Cote d'Ivoire (POECI), the groups said "social reforms, national reconciliation and the fight against high cost of living were of a higher priority for most people in the country."

"The initiative to reform the constitution is not a priority for citizens," POECI said, adding that the proposed position of vice-president and creation of a senate will increase the government wage bill.

OPPOSITION PARTIES REJECT CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW

A total of 23 political parties that form the Coalition of Democratic Opposition Parties (CODE), have strongly opposed the constitutional reforms which they termed as "undemocratic, illegal and illegitimate."

The opposition has rejected the position of vice president, arguing that Ouattara was using this avenue to "choose his successor."

It has equally rejected the creation of a senate where a third of its members will be nominated by the president.

They accused the president of applying "authoritarian" tactics and failing to consult the opposition in the drafting of the new constitution.

According to Pascal Affi N'Guessan, the president of the Cote d'Ivoire Popular Front (FPI), "the time is not ideal for drafting a new constitution since the country is divided following the 2010 post-election crisis.

FPI and its allies have called for a total rejection of Ouattara's initiative and have threatened to organize street protests if the initiative is not halted.

RULING COALITION SUPPORT PRESIDENT'S INITIATIVE

Speaking recently on the controversy, Joel N'guessan, the spokesman for the president's party, Rally of Republicans, termed the position taken by opposition parties as "bizarre."

"They have not even seen the document. We have not even submitted the proposed constitution to members of parliament and they say they do not support the initiative," he said.

With regards to the timing, Government Spokesman Bruno Kone said the time was ideal for writing a new constitution.

"In 10 years, we shall continue saying the time is not ideal, because there will be a number of unresolved problems at the national level," he said.

Kone affirmed that "there is no nation which first resolved all its challenges before writing its Constitution."

In fact, the best thing to do is write a constitution at a time when there are difficulties, he said.

Within the greater family of the ruling coalition, Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace, after several weeks of disagreement on the president's initiative, peace seems to have been restored.

The coalition leaders recently vowed to move across the country campaigning for the passage of the new constitution in the referendum scheduled to take place in October this year. Endit