The meeting on Saturday between Sami Anan, chief of staff of the armed forces, and party chiefs closed the door to the option of creating supra-constitutional principles for the new constitution, Freedom and Justice Party Secretary General Mohamed Saad al-Katatny said Sunday.
At the meeting, everyone agreed on setting rules to protect the civil state, such as those listed in the document issued by Al-Azhar in August and approved by political parties.
In a statement, Katatny explained that the meeting’s participants were creating a bill of guiding principles, “not supra-constitutional principles, which were earlier refused by the party.”
He also said that once the document is done, it will be announced publicly, adding that the meeting between Anan and Freedom and Justice Party chief Mohamed Morsy would address several issues.
“The Freedom and Justice Party refused the supra-constitutional principles proposal once they were declared,” he added, saying that attempts to impose a constitution is considered a betrayal of the revolution.
Wide controversy erupted over the past few months around the idea of creating supra-constitutional principles, especially since the government had drafted a document to be used as a basis for drafting a new constitution. Secular groups welcomed the idea, while Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, rejected it.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
