The National Consensus Commission is expected to propose that the next elected parliament be given 270 days to serve both as a legislative body and a Constitution Reform Assembly.
The period would be fixed to ensure the July charter is implemented within that timeframe, after which the parliament would resume normal legislative functions, the commission's Vice-President Ali Riaz told The Daily Star yesterday.
At the same time, the commission is preparing an "Implementation [Constitution] Order" for the charter based on issues agreed upon during the last three rounds of its talks with political parties.
However, the specific clauses and sub-clauses to be included in the order have not yet been finalised.
Despite an over three-hour-long meeting between the commission and constitutional experts, beginning at 3:00pm yesterday, no final draft of the order was produced.
Another such meeting will be held this afternoon, following an internal meeting of the commission in the morning.
One expert, who was present at yesterday's meeting, preferring anonymity, said, "We're still discussing the structure of the order since there are many details involved.... We hope to complete it in the next meeting."
Ali Riaz said the commission would also finalise today which of the proposed recommendations on the implementation method would be presented to the government, adding that they want to prepare a draft that would bind the next elected government to its responsibilities.
According to sources from yesterday's meeting, it was broadly agreed that the order would be based on the July uprising itself.
As per the preliminary draft, the implementation process will begin with the issuing of a special order, under which a separate ordinance will be prepared. That ordinance will then authorise a "special referendum", and the next parliament will have a dual role under this framework.
Consensus commission sources further said that during yesterday's meeting, one expert questioned the basis on which the next parliament would be elected if it were given a dual role as both a legislature and a constitutional reform assembly.
The existing constitution says that if parliament is dissolved before its term ends, an election must be held within 90 days -- a period that has already passed.
The expert questioned whether the commission had the authority to make recommendations on this matter, and no decision was reached on the issue.
Furthermore, clearly defining the functions and responsibilities of the reform assembly was also discussed, but no conclusion was reached.
The meeting also could not decide what the referendum's question would be, or how the commission would handle the "notes of dissent", which are objections to certain sections of the July charter.