CAIRO - Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces urged 'honest' Egyptians to participate in next Saturday's referendum on constitutional amendments which have recently stirred heated controversy among political parties. "Honest Egyptians should go to polling stations on Saturday to enrich Egypt's political experiment regardless of voting for or against them," read a statement on the council's account on the social networking website Facebook. It added that the council adopted the constitutional changes in order to provide for the proper conditions to elect the next president and the Parliament. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took over after former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11, suspended the Constitution and dissolved the Parliament just two days after taking power. "The Army showed without doubt that it did not seek power in Egypt, making the atmosphere proper for a healthy democratic life and pledging to oversee the transition fro democracy," the statement read. The changes to be voted in the public referendum include limiting presidential terms, easing restrictions on presidential candidates and bolstering judicial supervision of elections. Egyptians will also vote on removing the president's right to order a military trial for civilians. There are increasing calls for the referendum to be postponed or cancelled, including calls from presidential candidates Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, and Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, who say it is not enough merely to fiddle with the constitution. Only the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which was suppressed under Mubarak, has called for a "yes" vote. Youth activists, who spearheaded the pro-democracy revolution, called for a "no" vote on the constitutional reform. "We have decided on our position. We are saying 'go and vote but say no", said Shadi al-Ghazali Harb, a member of the youth coalition that helped overthrow Mubarak. "We want a new constitution and an extension of the transitional period with the formation of a presidential council," he said, echoing the same reservations voiced by the Al-Wafd, Tagammu, the Democratic Front and Nasserist parties. Human rights organisations, judges, constitutional experts and activists have all expressed their disapproval of the amendments, stressing they did not limit the powers of the president. "These amendments will create a new dictator," said Ayman Nour, a potential presidential candidate and the founder of el-Ghad Party. Nour added in a phone call with The Egyptian Gazette that Egyptians should stand against them to show that their "will for change could not be compromised". "I know why the Muslim Brotherhood back these changes. I know they have a huge presence in the Egyptian street. However, I do trust the Egyptians' understanding of this critical stage," Nour said. Backing the Muslim Brotherhood in their support for the cahnges are surprisingly remnants of the formely ruling National Democratic Party ((NDP), which was once headed by Mubarak. NDP Secretary General Mohamed Ragab said in a press release that he had directed party leaders across Egypt to participate in the referendum and vote in favour of the proposed amendments. "The party believes the amendments will help the country to move towards democracy," he said.
