CAIRO - As Egyptians are set to vote next week on constitutional amendments allowing for truly competitive presidential elections under judicial supervision, political parties, activist groups, presidential hopefuls and professionals are still divided on such changes. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most organised group, yesterday announced it backed the constitutional changes, urging the people to vote for them as a "first, positive step but not enough". "The Brotherhood approves these changes to the Constitution. And ratifying them is a must in order to a step forward in the democratic change Egyptians seek," said Mohamed Mursi, a spokesman for the group. In a press conference held in the group's headquarters in Cairo, Mursi added that the new Constitution expected within a year and a half would meet other demands for change. The Muslim Brotherhood was the only political group, which had a representative in the 10-man panel, which amended the articles of the Constitution. The proposed changes reduce the presidency term to four years from six and allows for full judicial supervision for the referendum as well as presidential and parliamentary elections. "The Brotherhood was seeking more changes to reduce the power of the president. However, plans to remove the current Constitution within a year after the parliamentary elections gives us a good reason to accept this step," Mohssen Radi, a key Brotherhood official, told The Egyptian Gazette. "Yes. We will vote for the changes," Radi confirmed. Al-Wafd Party, the second biggest political bloc in Egypt, urged Egyptians to boycott the referendum, which it described as a non-positive step. "Boycott the referendum," was the headline of the front-page story on Al-Wafd newspaper yesterday, signed by el-Sayyed el-Badawi, the party's chief. The Nassersit and the Tagammu parties, meanwhile, said they would take part in the vote, despite being skeptical about the hastiness adopted by the Army to ratify them. Several judges said they had rejected the referendum for technical reasons, revealing that creating a new constitution could be better for all. "Also articles should be voted article by article to give people a chance to approve what really achieves their interests," read a statement from the State Council judges' general assembly. Mohamed ElBaradei, a former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog and a potential presidential has already candidate, has already rejected the amendments, calling on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to delay or cancel the March 19 referendum. The changes would also allow independents and opposition members to run for the presidency, impossible under Mubarak's regime. But the 68-year-old ElBaradei said the changes do not limit the president's powers or give enough time for political parties to form, setting parliamentary elections too soon. Amr Moussa, the Secretary-General of the Arab League and another potential presidential hopeful, stepped back from an initial support to the amendments to a rejection. "I will vote against the constitutional amendments," the semi-official Al-Gomhuria newspaper quoted Moussa as saying yesterday. Most political figures have criticised the Army's plan to hold a parliamentary vote within six months followed by a presidential election. Some politicians say it allows too little time for parties to organise and gives an advantage to remnants of Mubarak's formerly ruling National Democratic Party and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is seriously considering holding the presidential vote first. There is an agreement on this with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf," a source close to the council told The Gazette. The source, who was talking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, added that the final say about which comes first would be after next Saturday referendum. Egyptians are allowed to vote on the constitutional change by their IDs only without the need for an electoral card as before.
