Mohamed Nour Farahat, secretary general of the Advisory Council, has said that the Constitutional Declaration voted on in the March referendum did not stipulate that presidential elections should be held before a new constitution has been written.
He told Al-Masry Al-Youm the he is against the notion of electing a new president under a temporary constitutional declaration.
“It is unbecoming after the revolution to grant the president the unlimited powers that are taken from the 1971 constitution,” Farahat said. “We need to put down criteria for such powers.”
The constitutional declaration, issued last March by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), stipulates that the elected parliament will appoint a 100-member assembly to draft the new constitution after parliamentary elections end.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which won at least 41 percent of the seats in Egypt's lower house of parliament, will have a huge influence over drafting the future constitution.
Farahat added that political forces have expressed concerns over having a president under the patronage of the military council.
He also criticized the Brotherhood, which represents the largest political force in the country, for approving a special status for the armed forces in the new constitution. “It is unacceptable that a particular party should single-handedly draft the constitution,” he said.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
