The Advisory Council recommended Thursday that the military council issue a complementary constitutional declaration setting the standards of the Constituent Assembly in order to correct the democratic path.
Advisory Council head Sameh Ashour issued a statement on the dissolution of Parliament and said that the council calls on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to respond to its former proposal and issue a constitutional declaration as soon as possible so that a new constitution can be drafted before the legislative branch is reelected.
A military source told Al-Masry Al-Youm Thursday that the ruling military council is indeed putting together a constitutional declaration to govern the formation of the Constituent Assembly.
“A constitutional declaration is scheduled to be issued by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which includes the formation of the Constituent Assembly,” the source said, adding that “a meeting will be held Friday to discuss this matter.”
The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) decision which deemed the Parliamentary Elections Law unconstitutional cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Constituent Assembly which was established by Parliament on Tuesday. Some MPs are members of the Constituent Assembly.
Constitutional experts have argued that Parliament’s dissolution does not affect the validity of the laws it issued, but “the Constituent Assembly is something else,” deputy head of the SCC Tanhany al-Gebaly said.
However, legal expert Tarek al-Beshry, who was a member of the committee that drafted the Constitutional Declaration, argued, “All of Parliament’s decisions are legal, and thus the Constituent Assembly should continue its work as planned.”
Edited translation from MENA
