Political forces are divided over the constitutional principles document that Deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Selmy proposed at a meeting with party representatives and public figures on Tuesday. “The document is obligatory and those who oppose it must bear responsibility,” Selmy said, pointing to the Islamist forces that refused to attend the meeting. The document states that the people are the source of power, and that their will should not be superseded by supra-constitutional principles that cannot be changed. To write the constitution, the document forms a committee to be comprised of 100 members, of whom 80 are from outside parliament, and 20 are from parties inside parliament, with a maximum of five members for each party. It also forms a National Defense Council, headed by the president, which is tasked with preserving the security and safety of the country. It grants the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces the sole right to review all matters related to the army and discuss its budget, which would be the first item on the state budget. The council also has the sole right to approve legislation pertaining to the armed forces. Attendees of the meeting announced their approval of the draft document in principle, but requested that Article 9, which relates to the armed forces, be amended so as to allow parliament's national security committee to supervise it and discuss its budget as well. “The intelligentsia approves the draft in principle but expresses reservation on Article 9,” said Mohamed Salmawy, head of the Egyptian Book Authority. Hafez Abu Seada, head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, walked out of the meeting. “Most attendees were remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party,” he said. “And the document makes parliament good for nothing.” Meanwhile, the Islamist coalition said it would hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce their response to the meeting. “Any agreement reached during that meeting is worthless,” said Ahmed Abu Baraka, legal adviser to the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. Translated from the Arabic Edition
