In March 1994, the
Provisional Government of Eritrea established a
Constitutional Commission to draft a new constitution. The drafting authority was the transitional
National Assembly, a body consisting of 75 members of the EPLF central committee and 75 representatives elected by regional assemblies. In 1995, a global symposium was held in
Asmara for the writing of the Constitution of Eritrea. Eritrean representatives worked closely on the legislation with a number of international experts, including
Somali scholars
Ismail Ali Ismail and
Said Sheikh Samatar. The following year, Ismail also helped train senior government officials in the Eritrean capital. After 27 months, the resulting constitution was introduced to the National Assembly in 1997. The Eritrean constitution calls for legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. According to the constitution, a 150-seat unicameral legislature, the
National Assembly, decides internal and external policy, approves the budget, and elects the
president of the country. , the National Assembly had not met since 2002, and legislative and executive powers are effectively held by President
Isaias Afwerki. ==References==