Presidentialism vs constitutionalism in Central Asia: election time-management

Presidenzialismo contro costituzionalismo in Asia centrale: la tempistica elettorale

Abstract

Presidenzialismo contro costituzionalismo in Asia centrale: la tempistica elettorale - This article uses examples of recent constitutional developments in Central Asian countries to illustrate how the design of presidentialism in Central Asia is not conducive for democratic constitutionalism. Specifically, it is shown that presidential powers with respect to calling elections are designed with the idea that the president controls the timing of elections and remains in the driving seat. I argue that such constitutional designs are a priori incompatible with constitutionalism.

Keywords: Constitutionalism; Constitutional design; Central Asia; Constitutional reset; Elections; Presidentialism.