In 1999, both ex ante and ex post referendums were held, giving the people of Venezuela the possibility to get involved in the process and feel ownership over it. Even if holding referendums before and after the Constituent Assembly were not a constitutional requirement under the 1999 Constitution, it would seem appropriate and in line with democratic standards to do so. After all, the Decree 2878 stresses that the main motivation behind the whole process is to give the people the possibility to express its view and to create a system that would overcome internal political tensions and would guarantee peace. This effort can only be successful, if the people - i.e. all parts of the society - get actively involved in the constitutional process. Making the people, the holder of the “the original constituent power” (Article 347), participate in the constitutional reform as broadly as possibly, also is a constitutional requirement, though concrete forms of this participation are to be determined in concrete cases (within the limits of Article 70). The elections of the members of the Assembly, foreseen by Decree 2878, hardly suffice in themselves to satisfy this requirement.