President Morsy meets with political figures to discuss next steps (Presidency photo handout) President Mohamed Morsy repealed his controversial declaration issued on 22 November. The repeal came on Saturday night as part of a new declaration. This new, 8 December, declaration states that all actions taken in the wake of the 22 November declaration remain valid, which means that prosecutor general Abdel Meguid Mahmoud replacement remains in place. The new declaration also outlines the steps that would take place in the event that the draft constitution is not passed in the upcoming 15 December referendum. The declaration states that a new 100 member constituent assembly would be elected by popular vote and charged with drafting a new constitution. The 22 November declaration ignited popular protests across Egypt and its repeal is one of the two main demands of opposition protesters taking part in open ended sit-ins outside the Presidential Palace and in Tahrir Square. The other main demand is the cancelation of the 15 December referendum. In the Saturday night press conference when the new declaration was announced, Mohamed Selim El-Awa, a former Islamist candidate for president, added that the referendum will go ahead as planned and that President Morsy does not have the authority to cancel or postpone the referendum's date. Another article in the new declaration is a clarification of the potential for new trials for those who committed crimes against the revolution. The article now states that trials can be reopened in the event that new evidence comes to light in the cases of crimes against civilians in the year and a half after the revolution that were in some way related to the event. The 8 December declaration concludes by stating that the text is not subject to judicial review.
