Parliament should prioritize abolishing repressive legislation over creating a new constitution, said Mohamed ElBaradei, former presidential hopeful.
On Twitter, he said that “the focus should be on achieving independence for the judiciary and the media, restructuring security and revitalizing the economy.”
ElBaradei said dialogue among the revolutionaries, MPs, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the government was key to achieving national consensus.
At a promotional event for Alaa al-Aswany’s book “Has the Egyptian Revolution Made Mistakes?” on Monday, ElBaradei said that he does not oppose the formation of a unified front to speak in the name of the revolution, provided that this front is approved by the Tahrir revolutionaries. The front, he added, should be responsible for negotiating with the SCAF and the elected Parliament about the revolution’s goals.
The suggestion was for that front, which would include ElBaradei and others, to sum up the revolution’s goals in five points: sharing in writing the constitution, calling for restoring security, helping find a solution to the current economic conditions, purging state institutions of corruption and working together to achieve these goals.
ElBaradei called on people to protest on 25 January.
“I hope to see big crowds on 25 January because the revolution is continuing and will win and achieve all of its goals,” he said.
Several media professionals and politicians attended the event, including George Ishaq, founder of the Kefaya Movement; Wael Qandil, managing editor of independent daily Al-Shorouk; Mohamed Aboul Ghar, president of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party; Mona Makram Ebeid, former Wafd Party MP; and Layla Saeed, the mother of Khaled Saeed, whose murder by police served as a catalyst for the revolution.
Tranlsated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
