The reformist wing of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as Mohammad Abdul Kudus, head of the Journalist Syndicate’s Freedoms Committee, announced their rejection of the constitutional amendments. By doing so, they join the ranks of the amendments’ opponents and violate the Brotherhood’s endorsement of the constitutional changes ahead of a referendum Saturday.
“We reject the constitutional amendments because they were born void and because they will be voted on as a package. In addition, the amendments made the decisions of the electoral commission final, and prevented citizens from their right to appeal to the courts,” Mokhtar Nouh, a leading member of the reformist wing, told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups have heavily endorsed the amendments, passing out literature and pressuring those congregated for Friday prayers to vote in their favor.
“I blame the Brotherhood for its excessive enthusiasm in advising people to approve the amendments and distributing statements in mosques,” said Nouh. “I also blame the Brotherhood for its temper in dealing with opposing views, and the fact the movement appears as an adversary to the many political forces objecting to the amendments. Most Brotherhood leaders have even appeared on television, acting as if they have an interest in saying “yes.” I wish they could have played a wiser role and refrained from directing the public. The public needs awareness more than ready-made directives.”
Nouh said the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces should have allowed more time for a discussion of the amendments and argued that many uninformed sources claim that rejecting the amendments would mean abolishing Article 2 of the Constitution, despite the fact that the amendments leave Article 2 untouched and there is no connection between the two.
