The Advisory Council to Egypt's military leaders said Tuesday that a new constitution must be drafted before presidential elections, a recommendation in line with the ruling military council's transition plan. Presidential elections are slated for June, leaving only three months to draft a constitution if the council carries out its plan. Whether the constitution should come before elections, and how much time is needed to draft it, has been a source of much debate over the past year. The constitutional declaration approved by popular referendum in March states that the elected bicameral Parliament will create a 100-member constituent assembly to write the constitution. Parliamentary elections will conclude on 22 February with the last round of voting for the Shura Council, Egypt's upper house. The declaration also says the constituent assembly should draft the new constitution over no more than six months and that the proposed constitution should be put to a public referendum within 15 days of its completion. The Advisory Council after its meeting Tuesday urged the High Judicial Elections Commission to expedite the announcement of a timeline for the presidential poll. Council spokesperson Mohamed al-Khouly said the majority of council members agree that a new constitution must precede presidential elections. Khouly called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to launch dialogue among professional syndicates, parties and other legal entities in Egypt to discuss the criteria for selecting the members of the constituent assembly. Sameh Ashour, vice president of the council, said there are speculations that power might be handed over to a civilian president earlier than scheduled. He said the SCAF is committed to opening the door for nominations on 10 March. The constitution should be drafted before a president is elected in order for him to know what powers he has, Ashour added. He also called on SCAF to amend Article 60 of the constitutional declaration — which deals with electing members of the constituent assembly — to prevent any one political force from dominating the process.
