The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Thursday formed a new committee to monitor opposition voices toward recently drafted constitutional amendments. The council recently appointed a commission, headed by vice president of the state council Tareq al-Beshri, to introduced the amendments set for a nationwide 19 March referendum. The new committee is headed by Major General Mamdouh Shahin, assistant defense secretary for legal affairs and a member of the council, sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm. The body is composed of a number of legal counsels, including president of the college of commissioners of the supreme constitutional court Bajato Hatem. Sources said the committee aims to reach out to the best legal form of constitutional amendments during the transitional period. The committee will deliver a report of these observations, scheduled to be taken into account in the final drafting of the amendments before the referendum date. Critics say the reform measures fail to address the vast powers entrusted in the presidency since the implementation of the 1971 Constitution. Presidential candidate and political reformist Mohamed ElBaradei has denounced the amendments, calling for the drafting of a new Constitution.
