The two houses of parliament -- the People's Assembly and Shura Council -- meet next Saturday to discuss the formation of the 100-member assembly tasked with drafting the new constitution, writes Gamal Essam El-Din Elected members of the People's Assembly and Shura Council are due to meet on Saturday to discuss selection criteria for the 100-member constituent assembly that will draft Egypt's post-25th January Revolution constitution. The general committees of the two houses met on Monday to review the 22-page report prepared by a parliamentary technical group entrusted with reviewing proposals on how the assembly be formed. By 8 March, the end of the period for submitting suggestions, 353 proposals had been received. Speaker of the People's Assembly Saad El-Katatni told the meeting that 339 -- the vast majority of proposals -- were in favour of the 100- member assembly containing a mix of parliamentarians and non-parliamentarians. "Twenty seven proposals said the 100-member assembly should be limited exclusively to parliamentarians, while nine argued that MPs should be excluded from membership," said the report. Of proposals supporting a mix of parliamentarians and non-parliamentarians 119 argued that MPs should form between 30 and 40 per cent of the constituent assembly, with remaining members being drawn from political parties, universities, Islamic and Christian organisations, unions and syndicate, civil society groups and human rights organisations. MPs submitted 140 proposals, ordinary citizens 129, non-governmental organisations 30, political parties 19, labour unions and professional syndicates 15, government institutions and organisations 14, and independent unions and movements six. The proposals were not confined to the formation of the 100-member constituent assembly. They also covered the conditions and instruments necessary for electing its members. Most of the proposals insisted members of the assembly be aged between 40 and 60, be born to two Egyptians parents, have a track record of political activity excluding membership of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's defunct ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), be fluent in Arabic and at least one other language, and be committed to the aims of the 25 January Revolution. A final vote on the measures to be adopted in forming the Constituent Assembly is scheduled for 24 March. Differences have emerged between Islamist parties over the make-up of the constituent assembly though they agree parliamentarians should form a majority. Hussein Ibrahim, parliamentary spokesman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, proposed that drafting the constitution be entrusted to 40 elected parliamentarians and 60 non- parliamentarians. The ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party wants the assembly to comprise at least 60 parliamentarians, a figure supported by the Salafist Asala Party. The Construction and Development Party (the political wing of the Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya) wants a minimum of 70 parliamentarians. The FJP proposal gained support from non- Islamist groups. Mustafa El-Naggar, MP and chairman of the Justice Party, came out in favour, as did MP Wahid Abdel-Meguid, an Al-Ahram political analyst. Other secular forces, fearing an Islamist stranglehold on the assembly, want a smaller number of elected MPs. The Free Egyptians Party would prefer just 20 MPs. "The 80 non-parliamentarians should include 10 women, 10 Copts, and 10 public figures," says the party's chairman Ahmed Said. The Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP) proposed 25 elected deputies and 75 members from outside parliament. The latter, it says, should include 15 public figures, mostly constitutional law experts, 13 academics, 10 members of the judiciary, 23 figures from labour unions and syndicates; eight representing religious institutions and six to represent the people of Sinai, Nubia, the oases and Egyptians living abroad. The Wafd Party wants the assembly to include 30 elected MPs and 70 non-parliamentarians, including professors of constitutional law, judges, religious leaders, representatives of human rights and civil society organisations and Nobel laureates Ahmed Zuweil and Mohamed El-Baradei. The Tagammu Party opposes the inclusion of any parliamentarians. National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Deputy Chairman Mohamed Fayek says NCHR would like the assembly to contain 27 members drawn from the executive and judicial branches, 52 representing a cross-section of society and just 21 sitting MPs. Differences between Islamist and secular forces over who should join the constituent assembly are inevitable, though they are unlikely to form as big a headache as actually drafting the constitution. The 100 members of the constituent assembly will have to make a host of difficult decisions, not least determining the role of the army. Will Egypt's ruling generals accept the military being eased out of its entrenched economic and political position? Will they approve of the military budget being subject to parliamentary approval? There are already reports that the advisory council has drafted an army-inspired constitution that will be forced on the constituent assembly. Equally worrying for many is the spectre of Islamists hi-jacking the constitution. The ultra- conservative Nour party has voiced its objections not only to the word secular being included in the constitution but also to any mention of Egypt being a civilian state on the grounds that it would reflect Western liberal values. Islamists and many secularists agree that the 50 per cent quota of parliamentary seats reserved for farmers and workers should be scrapped, both arguing that it reflects outdated socialist dogma. They are opposed by leftists, who believe abandoning the quota will leave parliament in the hands of wealthy interest groups. How the constitution balances the power of the president and the judicial and legislative branches of the state will also be problematic. While most elected MPs believe the powers of the president must be curtailed, presidential hopefuls say this could reduce the office to a toothless figurehead. Once the 100-member constituent assembly is formed, it will split into groups each tasked with drafting specific chapters of the new constitution. Many observers agree with constitutional law professor and member of the advisory council Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, who argues that much that is contained in the 1971 constitution can be replicated since "it reflects democratic values". "The most problematic chapters will address the powers of the president, parliament and the military," says Abul-Magd. "It is these that will take time."
