We will not challenge the court ruling disbanding the Constituent Assembly and the whole issue is now in the hands of the State Council, said Parliamentary Majority Leader Hussein Ibrahim of the Freedom and Justice Party, according to state-run daily Al-Ahram.
A ruling by the State Council's Administrative Court on Tuesday reversed an earlier Parliament decision to form the panel tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution.
The ruling came following a lawsuit decrying domination by Islamists over the formation of the Constituent Assembly, which was announced in March.
Several secular figures and liberal parties, as well as representatives from Al-Azhar and the Coptic Church, had withdrawn from the 100-member panel in objection to its unbalanced membership.
Ibrahim said the People’s Assembly and Constituent Assembly respect the court’s ruling.
However, Ibrahim rejected any amendment to Article 60 of the Constitutional Declaration, which gives Parliament the power to select the assembly.
“Is the aim to exclude the Freedom and Justice Party from the Constituent Assembly and for it to be exclusively liberal?” he asked.
Islamist parties depend on Article 60 for the Constituent Assembly’s current composition. Opponents, however, believe the article did not explicitly mention that it allows MPs to be included as members of the Constituent Assembly.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
