CAIRO: Following a meeting with Cabinet members, representatives of political parties said they'll withhold their opinion on the amendments made to a controversial constitutional principles charter until they discuss them within their respective parties. Political parties of various affiliations met on Tuesday with Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs Ali El-Selmy to discuss the latest amendments. Political forces had given the ruling military council until Wednesday to withdraw the proposed document, threatening to escalate street action. Calls for a million-strong protest on Friday have already been made. While mainly Islamist parties have opposed any binding constitutional charter over the past months, the most recent document proposed by El-Selmy was rejected across the board. The document would give the military powers over elected representatives in the drafting of the new constitution, and would limit the discussion of its budget within the parliament. One of the politicians that attended Tuesday's meeting said the changes include the removal of the controversial Articles 9 and 10 pertaining to the army. The source was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media. The government had allegedly told attendees to withhold information about the amendments until the political parties decided whether to accept them or not. Some parties indicated later on Tuesday that “approval” was a possibility if the controversial articles were removed. Some claimed it was their pressure that led to these desired changes. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) refused to comment on the amendments, saying the party would issue a constructive response on Wednesday. The FJP had boycotted the conference in which El-Selmy had first proposed the document. Al-Wasat President Aboul Ela Madi walked out during that conference. He said the amendments were still being discussed by party members. Democratic Alliance representative Waheed Abdel Maguid, who attended Tuesday's meeting, also refused to comment. Independent satellite station ONTV said that SCAF may issue a new constitutional decree that includes these amendments, however Cabinet's press office could not confirm or deny the news. Al-Ghad's co-founder and vice president Shady Taha told DNE that the party rejects the idea of imposing a charter on people. “Did the people already elect us to represent them in front of the government? We cannot agree or reject these articles when we were not given the authority to do so,” he said. He explained that the idea of constitutional principles was first introduced out of fear of a negative Islamist influence on the upcoming parliament, which would choose a committee to draft the constitution. Such discussions, he said, are a runaround democracy and a way to circumvent the will of the people. “Since Feb. 11 no one has legitimacy. It's up to the people to decide. The only thing SCAF and the caretaker government should do is end the transitional phase in Egypt, otherwise we [political parties] are creating a state within a state,” he added. Handing over power to a civilian government was also discussed in Tuesday's meeting. Mostafa El-Naggar of the El-Adl Party said political parties voiced their concerns to the Cabinet regarding the military handing over power to a civilian elected government. “The Cabinet told us that handing over power is in the hands of the SCAF,” he said. Political powers and presidential hopefuls have met more than once to strategize a counter reply to El-Selmy's document. In case the proposed document is not amended, discussions about the planned Friday protest have included the suggestion to focus the slogan of the protest on the rejection of military rule instead of an objection to the document. “Leftists and liberals are holding talks with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties to protests with us against military rule itself,” activist Karima El-Hefnawy, member of the Kefaya Movement and the National Association for Change, previously told DNE. She said that leftist forces supported El-Selmy's document with the exception of the articles that gave the army immunity from public scrutiny. It wasn't immediately clear if Tuesday's amendments would change the position of other forces. FJP's Saad El-Katatny previously said that the army would have a special status that must be considered when drafting the constitution. However, he stressed that the guarantees do not need “a constitutional decree.” “It is better for the armed forces to go back to their barracks were their national duty lies, and allow another body to take charge of the country,” Al-Ghad's Taha said.
