■ Issue papers

Responding to this dynamic, International IDEA and the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM) hosted a workshop in Mexico City in February 2008 on the theme of "Making Presidentialism Work", bringing together a broad group of experts, ranging from academics and lawyers to political activists and political commentators involved in debate and work on political reform.

This overview summarises the global comparative discussions which arose from the individual presentations at the workshop, a compendium of which is also published by UNAM and IDEA.

This paper is directed at the non-specialist member of the public who has the opportunity tocomment on a draft constitution proposed for adoption in their country. It assumes that itis probably worthwhile to take the trouble to respond and it suggests why and how you as acitizen might respond. It will, we hope, be especially useful to previously marginalized sectionsof society and their members, with special emphasis on women.

This paper raises issues about how the Constituent Assembly will work, and how its procedureswill have an impact both on the way in which women members will be able to play a part in itswork, and on how women's issues will dealt with in the new Constitution which it is thepurpose of the Constituent Assembly to draft. This paper does not deal with public participation- which is the topic of the next paper in the International IDEA Gender Folder. Most of theprocedures of the Constituent Assembly will be laid down in its Rules, a draft of which iscurrently before the relevant committee.