CAIRO: Secular political parties joined voices with the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, the Cairo s Judges Club, and professional unions led by the Journalists and Lawyers syndicates to call for boycotting yesterday s referendum on 34 amended constitutional articles. In a clear signal to the judiciary s rejection of the amendments, the Administrative Court yesterday ruled in favor of a complaint filed by members of the Judge s Club seeking to void the outcome of the referendum. The court referred to articles in the Political Participation law, based on which the judicial supervision of yesterday s referendum was replaced by that of the none-judicial Supreme Elections Committee, to the Supreme Constitutional court. The plaintiffs cited the unconstitutionality of these articles as they contradicted article 88, which was set to be amended by the referendum. More than two thirds of members of the board of the Journalists Syndicate, meanwhile, issued a statement rejecting the amendments ratified by the People s Assembly last week. Calls to boycott yesterday s referendum came as political analysts and commentators were split on the aim of the referendum, and their impact on civil liberties and religious freedoms. Political analyst Muhammad Al Sayeed Fayeq, who endorsed the amendments, told The Daily Star Egypt that for the past two weeks the Egyptian people have been participating with their ears and eyes , through following up PA discussion and media coverage. Now is the time for voters to participate in the vote to practice their political rights, he said. Fayeq added that the main aim of the constitutional amendments is to broaden the base of political participation in Egypt. This is a good opportunity to part with the predominate, nonchalant political attitude marked by apathy and non-involvement, by taking part in the political process, regardless of voting for or against the proposed amendments. As I see it, the main aim of these amendments is to provide for a greater dosage of democracy and revamping obsolete laws, he said, adding that he expects up to 60 percent of the electorate to cast their votes. The amendments also aim to update laws in Egypt and bring them in line with social, economic, and political changes, he added, ushering Egypt s shift from a socialist state philosophy to free-market practices. "We must weed out obsolete articles from the current constitution has not seen any major changes since its ratification in 1971. Asked whether these amendments were being rushed without the majority of voters understanding their significance, Fayeq said the main point was to widen the broader base of democratic participation in the political process. The aim of the amendments is to kick start a state of active political involvement. Therefore, even if voters do not understand the amendments, they can always seek further changes through their representatives in Parliament. As for concerns over Article 179, and its possible abuse of to curtail civil liberties or religious freedoms, Fayeq said that laws to be passed by the legislature to interpret this article will restrict the definition of serious crime to acts of terrorism. But Tarek Al Beshri, former vice president of the State Council (Majles Al Dawla), and former president of the Egyptian General Assembly for Edicts and Legislation, speaking to Al Osbou opposition newspaper, described the proposed amendments as constitutional deformities. Al Beshri warned that the amendments do not only aim to curtail the growing power of the Muslim Brotherhood, but also to consolidate the ruling party s grip over power.
