Complex sentence: The Constitutional Assembly engaged in a massive public participation programme to solicit views and suggestions from the public; however, as the deadline for the adoption of a constitutional text approached, many issues were hashed out in private meetings between the parties' representatives.
Split into simpler sentences: The Constitutional Assembly engaged in a massive public participation programme to solicit views and suggestions from the public. As the deadline for the adoption of a constitutional text approached, however, many issues were hashed out in private meetings between the parties' representatives.