Kathmandu, June 14 :

Wide public participation in an organised and extensive process and proportional representation are essential for making constitutional assemblies inclusive and democratically elected, said an expert on constitutional politics and political theory from New York.

Professor Andrew Arato at the New School for Social Research, on a video-conference organised by the American Centre today said: “You (Nepal) can have both parliament and a round table conference and they can be part of a longer process of constituent assembly.”

Stating that the process of a constituent assembly would take at least six to nine months, he advised for good planning of the whole process of constituent assembly and that it be done by someone who is politically legitimate. “Constituent assembly with proportional representation is essential to make it inclusive, but at the same time it should be

in line with the legislative assembly,” said Professor Arato.