CAIRO: Egypt's Constituent Assembly, the body tasked with drafting the new constitution, is set. The majority of those on the assembly are Islamists, voted in by Parliament, also led by Islamists, on Saturday. The resulting 100-member assembly, has some 60 Islamist members, leading many to question the overall role of the assembly in drafting a document that will represent all Egyptians. One aide to a liberal member of Parliament told Bikyamasr.com that “this is the worst thing that could have happened to Egypt. Now we will have a constitution that is not going to be good for the future and we are certain it will lead to problems.” Among the 100-person council are 6 women and five Christians, a far cry from their overall percentage in society. The names of the panel's 100 members were published by parliament on Sunday, showing that members of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the ultra-conservative Salafists made up the majority of the panel. Fifty members are lawmakers, while the remaining 50 are legal experts, academics, intellectuals, unions members and religious scholars. Mamdouh Shahin of the ruling military council was chosen as a member of the panel. “Since the beginning we have announced that our path is democracy, transparency and consultation before taking any decision,” parliament speaker Saad al-Katatni said after the members of the assembly were announced. The constituent assembly's first meeting will be held on Wednesday. Members of parliament voted to chose the panel's member on Saturday. Several liberal lawmakers walked out to protest against brotherhood's domination of the selection. The country's ruling military council issued an interim constitution last year after the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/EfGtb Tags: Assembly, Constitution, featured, Islamists, Parliament Section: Egypt, Latest News
