Constitution Making in Nepal 
Constitutional Design
Constitutions and Constitution Making Elsewhere
Nepal's Constitutions
Of Special Interest To
Electronic Library

New Publications from UNDP










 Home » Constitutions and Constitution Making Elsewhere » Other Processes

Referendums and constitution making


A referendum is a mechanism for referring an issue to the people for a formal vote. A person who votes in a referendum will find a ballot paper, but instead of the names of candidates or parties it will contain one or more questions and the possibility of indicating an answer to the question(s). Most often the answer will be just "Yes" or "No".

Although there is unlikely to be a referendum about the new Constitution of Nepal (see further on this) in a number of other countries referendums have been used to decide whether a constitution should be adopted, and for other purposes also. Most often the question will be a simple one: "Do you approve the new Constitution - Yes or No?" Examples of this use of the referendum are in Bolivia (forthcoming at the end of the current constitution making process), Zimbabwe in 2000 and Kenya in 2005. In the last two cases the people voted No. Another example was the use of the referendum for the adoption of the Constitution of the European Union - and two countries said "No" there also.

Sometimes the question is a narrower one. In Maldives recently the people were asked whether they wanted a presidential or a parliamentary system of government. They voted for the former - which was a victory for the current President. Click here for some background on that referendum and here for the results (both from the South Asia Analysis Group).

Is a referendum a good idea? On the one hand it seems like a very democratic idea. And one would imagine that a people who had been asked about the constitution, and had said "Yes" would feel a sense of pride and ownership in the new Constitution.

Clearly many countries have felt that this was a good idea. But there are a number of considerations on the other side. First of all it is very expensive. Secondly, it is not clear what the people are voting for when they say "Yes". Do they really understand all the details of the new Constitution? Even if they are asked a seemingly simpler question - how many people will really understand the issues? The article on the Maldives referendum referred to earlier says "it is doubtful whether people would understand the nuances between the two forms of government".

If the people were properly consulted at earlier stages and the new Constitution really reflects the popular will, why is it necessary to consult them through a referendum? If the people say "Yes" by only a narrow margin, might this undermine the legitimacy of the new Constitution rather then enhance it?

If the people vote against the new Constitution, do we know why they do it? In the Kenyan 2005 referendum, it seems that some people voted "No" because they were unhappy about the way the government had changed the draft constitution prepared through a constituent assembly. But many others voted "No" because they were dissatisfied with the government generally. Others voted - for or against - largely on ethnic lines, which was very divisive. Some voted "No" because of some minor point - such as recognition of Islamic courts (some Christian bodies had campaigned on this). If a new constitution is rejected, presumably the country is then left with its old constitution. Do we know what to do to make things more acceptable? Finally, a new constitution may have been worked out through not only consultation but also careful negotiations. All this can be undone by this act of the people.

For further information:

On the referendum in Kenya "Of Oranges and Bananas: The 2005 Kenya Referendum on the Constitution" (Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute)

You can find material about referendums more generally at:

The Research Centre for Direct Democracy of the University of Zurich has information about referendums and popular initiatives worldwide.

The Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe also has a lot of information about various forms of direct democracy.

The website of Intute (created by a network of UK universities and partners) also has links to a large number of sites with information on referendums. These include the Initiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California and the Referendum Commission of the Republic of Ireland.

Also on referendums (many of them on issues concerned with the European Union) see the UK Election Commission website here.

^ Home

Copyright © 2008  |  All Rights Reserved  |  Constitution Advisory Support Unit, UNDP