Mohamed Salmawy, media spokesperson for the 50-member committee redrafting the constitution, says half the final document has already been agreed. “The remaining 50 per cent,” Salmawy said in a press conference on Monday, “is expected to be finalised soon, after which a second reading of the document, which will be televised, can begin.” He predicted the committee's work would be finished by 3 December. “The committee has almost finished a first reading of the chapters on freedoms and rights and the rule of law [3 and 4],” said Salmawy, and has finalised the first reading of chapters 1 and 2, on the state and the foundations of society. On Monday it began a first reading of Chapter 5, the constitution's longest, comprising 108 articles dealing with the system of government. “Most members rejected the notion of an upper house,” said the spokesman, and a majority were in favour of a French-style political system in which the president and prime minister share power. “Members rejected an American-style presidential system in favour of a mixed parliamentary-presidential system under which the prime minister enjoys greater powers. The president will remain the major decision-maker but no longer the only one as was the case under Egypt's 1971 and 2012 constitutions.” Under Article 121 the majority party or coalition of parties have the right to name the prime minister but should that nominee fail to secure the confidence of an overwhelming majority of members of the People's Assembly then the president is empowered to suggest an alternative. The article, argued Salmawy, prevents the People's Assembly monopolising the appointment of the prime minister. Article 125, he added, makes the president of the republic responsible, in coordination with the cabinet, for the setting of policy and oversight of its implementation. Article 127 strips the president of the power to unilaterally declare war. “He must seek the prior approval of the cabinet, the Armed Forces, the National Defence Council and two-thirds of MPs,” said Salmawy. Nor, under Article 129, can the president declare a state of emergency without the approval of the cabinet and two thirds of MPs. Article 115 limits not only the number of terms a president can serve but also the number of times he can stand as a candidate to two. Article 116 states that presidential candidates must be born to Egyptian parents and if married have an Egyptian spouse, hold no other nationality and be at least 40 years of age. Article 117 has been amended to stipulate that candidates must secure the recommendation of 25 MPs (rather than 20) or the signatures of 25,000 citizens (rather than 20,000) from at least 15 (rather than 10 ) governorates, with at least 1,000 signatures from each governorate. Military personnel, Salmawy said, will be excluded from voting in elections. Article 114 has been changed to explicitly state that it is the responsibility of the president to uphold the independence of the country and the unity of its territory. The amendment, he added, was in response to “the ousted Islamist president's plans to cede the areas of Shalatin and Halayeb to Sudan”. The constitution is expected for the first time to address cultural issues. “Six new articles have been approved,” said Salmawy. “They oblige the state to adopt an ambitious translation programme, publish cultural material at affordable prices and safeguard artistic creativity… antiquities and Egypt's cultural heritage.” The first reading of chapters 1 and 2, the spokesman disclosed, had witnessed heated debates. The two chapters include controversial articles on Islamic Sharia and the so-called identity articles. Bishop Paula, representative of the Coptic Church, threatened to withdraw from the committee if the Nour Party was “able to impose its Islamic radical views”. “Some leading secular committee members are trying to appease the Nour Party even if this meant the new charter becomes a constitution for Islamists rather than for all Egyptians,” complained Paula. He expressed surprise that secularists had voted to eliminate the word civilian from the first article of the constitution, adding that “it seems this was part of a deal… in return the Salafis agreed the content of Article 219 defining Islamic Sharia could be diluted in the constitution's preamble.” Salmawy insisted a majority had agreed the word “civilian” in Article 1 was unnecessary as long as the constitution imposed an outright ban on religious parties and stressed that the committee had rejected pressure from the Nour Party to change Article 2. “Article 2 was maintained stating that principles of Islamic Sharia — rather than Islamic Sharia as demanded by the Nour Party — is the major source of legislation in Egypt,” he said. Speculation that Article 3 would be amended to extend freedom of worship to all religions has proved unfounded. Committee members caved in to the demands of Al-Azhar and the Nour Party that freedom to exercise religious rites be restricted to Christians and Jews rather than all non-Muslim Egyptians . The first chapter introduces a number of new articles. Among the most significant are those setting a minimum level of GDP — three per cent and four per cent — to be spent on health and education. Committee member Ahmed Eid told parliamentary correspondents that Article 11 had been amended to guarantee women balanced representation in parliament and on city councils and that Nour Party demands the new draft include the words “without contravening Islamic Sharia” had been resisted. “Secular members argued Article 2 was sufficient since it requires all remaining articles to be guided by the principles of Islamic Sharia,” said Eid. Other new articles, according to Salmawy, secure the right of workers to organise peaceful strikes, oblige the state to implement a national health insurance system and provide free education that meets “international quality standards”. If passed at referendum the new constitution will lead to a massive overhaul of existing legislation. “Egypt has around 63,000 laws on the statute books,” says Salmawy. “Many are antiquated, others contradictory. It will be up to the new parliament to review existing legislation and ensure it is in line with the constitution.”
