CAIRO: In a move that could spur hundreds of thousands to the streets on Friday, Egypt's Islamist groups announced on Wednesday that it would hold a mass rally against the military council's draft of a basic constitution they argue must be left to an elected legislative body. The Muslim Brotherhood, who has largely been on the sidelines of protests in the country, including the 18 days of demonstrations that ousted the former government, said on its website that it would rally against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on Friday after the interim government, with SCAF approval, went ahead with the constitutional principles it and other groups in the country deem irresponsible. The constitutional principles would bind a panel appointed by the elected parliament – elections for that parliament begin on November 28 – to maintain the military's oversight of lawmaking in the country. The military also wants to ensure that no elected government can determine its budget, in a move largely seen by political forces in the country as a move to enhance and cement the military rulers' power. Amr Derrag, the Giza governorate chief of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) told Bikyamasr.com that the party wants to speak on behalf of the people, but he was weary of the military's far-reaching hand. “We must support the people and what they want and deliver to them the justice that democracy and the process can give, which is a free and elected body making decisions,” he said. The opposition to the draft constitutional principles has been one of the few issues that has brought the left and right together in Egypt. Earlier this week, political parties from all trends announced together that they would converge on Cairo's Tahrir Square in a show of massive anti-military protest if the rulers did not remove the principles. All political parties ahead of the vote have demanded that parliament be given oversight and final decision on military matters, including the budget. The government revised the draft, but the Islamists, who organised a mass protest in July, have rejected the very idea of a document that would limit parliament's authority to draft the constitution. “The cabinet is clinging on to undemocratic articles, so we have no choice but to stage a million person march to defend democracy on Friday,” the Brotherhood said. Many observers believe the FJP and the Brotherhood could be the biggest winners in the upcoming vote, the first open and free election in Egypt's history. The military, which took charge after Mubarak's ouster and suspended the constitution and parliament, says it will hand over power once a president is elected. However, the SCAF has said that presidential elections are not likely until 2013, leaving many leaders in the country worried over the military's desire to relinquish power. The initial timetable given by the military for parliamentary elections was 6 months. Now, 10 months on from the uprising, Egyptians are finally heading to the polls. BM
