CAIRO: The head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Armed Forces has issued a decree announcing that a national referendum on constitutional amendments will be held on March 19 where Egyptians will determine if they agree to amendments on 8 critical articles in the Constitution. The articles are 75, 76, 77, 88, 93, 139 and 149 and the cancellation of Article 179. The decree will be executed by the Supreme Judicial Committee and all executive bodies. Polling stations will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., it said. The constitution was suspended few days after Egypt's ruling military council, which has been governing the country since massive protests that lasted for 18 days led to the ouster of the former President Hosni Mubarak, and ordered the formation of a committee of legal experts and constitutional scholars, to propose amendments to help moving towards a democratic and a civil state, and ensure fair elections. The committee was headed by Tarek El-Beshry, and 7 other experts. The constitutional amendments were announced last Saturday. Article 75 was modified to guarantee that Egypt's president is born to two Egyptians parents and cannot be married to a non-Egyptian. The old article did not include any conditions related to the president's wife. The article also set 40 as the minimum age for the president of Egypt. Article 76 was modified to ease restrictions on presidential nominations. The revised article outlines three ways a candidate can be eligible to run for president: the candidate should be endorsed by 30 members from the People`s Assembly or the Shura Council (the lower and upper houses of parliament); receive 30,000 signatures from Egyptians from 15 Governorates; or be a member of a party that holds at least one seat in Parliament. Article 77 now limits the president to two terms in office, each lasting for four years. The original article did not set term limits and set the length of each term at six years. Under the old legislation, Mubarak was able to hold five 6-year terms as President of Egypt. Article 88 was amended to allow full judicial oversight of elections during the entire electoral process, from voter lists until the announcement of results. A 2007 amendment to Article 88 abolished judicial supervision. Article 89, pertaining to mechanisms to amend the constitution, was modified to ensure that the next elected parliament would form a 100-member elected commission to draft a new constitution within the first six months after its election. Article 93 formerly gave the People's Assembly the exclusive right to determine the validity of the parliamentary membership. It was amended so the Supreme Constitutional Court is the only arbitrator on contested memberships. Article 139 was changed to obligate Egypt's president to appoint a Vice President within the first two months of coming to power, and in case he is unable to perform his duties for any reason, a substitute must be appointed. Article 148, pertaining to the State of Emergency, was also changed. Formerly, the State of Emergency could be renewed by approval of the People's Assembly. Under the amendment, if the president wants to apply the Emergency Law for more than six months, it must be approved by a public referendum. Egyptians over the age of 18 would be allowed to vote with their national identity cards, instead of the previous system that required a voting card. BM
