Peru 1993
The 1993 Peruvian constitution followed a “self-coup” orchestrated by President Alberto Fujimori and members of the military. During the self-coup on April 5, 1992, the president dissolved the legislative assembly, dismantled the judiciary, incarcerated several opposition leaders and suspended the 1979 constitution. President Fujimori stated that his actions were necessary to deal with the country’s dire economic situation and Shining Path’s, a Maoist terrorist group, escalating insurgency campaign. On May 18, 1992, at a roundtable meeting between the Fujimori government and opposition parties brokered by the Organization of American States (OAS), the Fujimori government was pressured into accepting a timetable for constitutional reform devised by the OAS. The plan called for an 80-member Constituent Assembly to be elected in October (later changed to November) that would both revise the constitution and later serve as the legislative body until the 1995 elections. Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held on November 22, 1992. Various opposition groups refused to participate in the elections. Cambio 90, the party created by Fujimori, won a majority of the available seats.
The ad-hoc process of revising the constitution began in January 1993, when the newly-elected Democratic Constituent Congress (CCD) was inaugurated. The CCD created a 13-member subcommittee to write the initial draft. The subcommittee gathered public input through meetings between delegates and citizen that were held at various locations across the country and allowed the public to submit draft suggestions. The public was also kept abreast of the process through radio broadcasts and periodic press releases. The subcommittee voted, using a show of hands, to approve each provision before forwarding the final draft on to the public for approval. On October 31, 1993, voters narrowly approve the new constitution by a margin of 52% in favor to 48% opposed. 70.4% of the electorate voted and a simple majority was needed to adopt the draft. The constitution, which expanded the powers of the executive branch, entered into force on December 29, 1993.