A number of Egyptian activists have launched a campaign seeking to gather 15 million signatures supporting the formulation of a new constitution before the parliamentary elections scheduled for September. The Free Front for Peaceful Change, a group formed by young revolutionaries, said on Tuesday that it is coordinating with all civilian forces to obtain the signatures. It added that the campaign aims to press the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to prioritize the creation of a new constitution through a panel comprising different national figures before holding any elections. The group stressed that the people were not consulted before SCAF issued the constitutional declaration, and emphasized the people's right to run the transitional period. The military council issued the constitutional declaration in March, detailing how the country should be run during the transitional period. It followed a public referendum that backed amendments to Egypt's old 1971 constitution, which had persisted throughout the reign of ousted president Hosni Mubarak. Ahmed Abu Khalil, a member at the groups executive, said the declaration should be replaced with a new constitution establishing a modern civil state. He said that forms for the collection of signatures are being distributed in 12 governorates. Translated from the Arabic Edition
