CAIRO - The first session of the Advisory Council was held on Sunday, in order to choose the chairman of the council and his two assistants. The council has been created to discuss the formation of the constituent assembly that will draw up the Constitution. It will also focus on drawing up a draft law to regulate the presidential elections. The consultative council is a civilian body set up by the Army to advise it during the transition. Islamist politicians have said they will not join the council. The council, whose role is only a consultative one, includes representatives of most political powers and some academics. Former minister Mansour Hassan was named as the chairman, with Sameh Ashour, chairman of Bar Association, and Abul Ella Madi, chairman of Al-Wasat Party, chosen as his assistants. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) said on Sunday that only the Parliament would choose the make-up of the constituent assembly, appearing to retreat from earlier statements that riled Islamists and others, when a general said unelected members would have a role in the selection process. Mahmoud el-Khodairi, a judge-cum-politician, who recently won a seat in the first stage of the parliamentary elections, says that the forthcoming elected Parliament will be responsible for picking the 100-strong assembly that will write a new constitution to replace one that helped keep Hosni Mubarak in power for three decades. He has called on the people to support the Government in order to help it improve services, stressing that society is in dire need of the efforts of the younger generation. A general last week suggested Parliament's role would be diluted, when he said that the Army-backed Cabinet, a consultative body to the ruling generals and Parliament, would first agree on criteria for selection before any appointment. That angered the Islamists who are on course to securing a parliamentary majority in Egypt's staggered elections. It was the second time for the Army to become embroiled in a row over the new Constitution and then backtrack. "The only body responsible for choosing the constituent assembly is Parliament and its elected members," General Mamdouh Shaheen said on TV. "The consultative council, the Government and the military council will not have any say in choosing members of the constituent assembly that will write the new Constitution," Shaheen said. The Muslim Brotherhood, who were banned during Mubarak's rule, have renewed their support for their political wing Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) by withdrawing from the council, describing this move as the right decision. The Muslim Brotherhood have stressed that they have no intention of clashing with the SCAF or with any political power. The chairman of the FJP says that the party has withdrawn from the council as it feels that the SCAF is trying to manipulate the will of the people.
