Minister of Solidarity and Domestic Trade Gouda Abdel Khaleq criticized the Islamist-dominated Parliament’s control over the process of drafting the constitution on Monday.
On Saturday in a joint meeting of the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council, Parliament adopted the suggestion of the Freedom and Justice Party regarding the choice of members for the constituent assembly.
According to the proposal, half of the assembly members will be from Parliament and the other half will be from outside Parliament.
Letting Parliament choose the assembly as per the Constitutional Declaration was a mistake from the very beginning, Abdel Khaleq said in a briefing.
The Constitutional Declaration issued in March 2011 stipulates that Parliament will appoint a 100-member constituent assembly to draft Egypt’s new constitution. The constitution is to be put to a public referendum no more than 15 days after drafting is completed.
Parliament’s mission is legislative in the first place and changes every four years, while the constitution is permanent, according to Abdel Khaleq, who said it is wrong that a changing authority be tasked with drafting the document.
The minister dubbed the situation a “major stalemate.”
Parliament’s decision was rejected by some political figures. Presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabbahi demanded that the whole assembly be formed from outside the parliament.
The former head of the Arab League and presidential aspirant Amr Moussa demanded a review of the percentages, asserting the importance of balance regarding the assembly to embrace all political persuasions in Egypt in a statement Monday.
Regarding withdrawing confidence from the government, Abdel Khaleq said that Parliament has no authority to cast a vote of no confidence against the government as per the Constitutional Declaration.
The minister added that cabinet ministers are pressured in their positions and asserted that the cabinet would generously give any political trend the chance to form the government.
