Members of the ‘governance committee' in the Constituent Assembly, tasked with writing the new constitution, were on Monday divided over the electoral system in the constitution. Some want the elections to be held by lists; however, others want 50 per cent to be allocated for lists and 50 per cent for individuals. A third group wants one third of seats for individuals and the other two-thirds for lists. In the meantime, the debate appears unsettled. Some experts say that few countries employ the mixed system in the electoral elections. The Egyptian parliament, formed early this year in the wake of the January 25 Revolution, was dissolved by a court ruling last June, as elections were held according to the mixed system and the court said the individual system was defective. A human rights organisation called ‘Hayat' has called on members of the Constituent Assembly (CA) to reject the two proposed articles on freedoms that would allow the government to close newspapers and jail journalists. The organisation says these articles would jeopardise the freedom of opinion and expression. In a press release yesterday, carried by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA), Hayat said that the two proposed articles contradict international charters for human rights that Egypt has signed and must abide by. The organisation rejects the articles, as they will adversely affect press freedom and the gains of the January 25 Revolution. CA spokesman Wahid Abdel-Meguid has also warned of the dangers that these two proposed articles in the chapter on freedoms in the constitution would pose for the freedom of press. “The two articles might cost media workers their jobs, if one journalist made a mistake or committed a violation," Abdel-Meguid said in a statement reported by MENA. One of the articles would prohibit annulling the more than 30 articles in the current constitution, which allow for imprisonment in opinion, publication and expression lawsuits. “A group penalty [such as the closing of the whole newspaper] would be inflicted in case of an error made by one individual," he explained. The second article would pave the way for suspending newspapers, although the Egyptian law has never contained an article allowing this, Abdel-Meguid stated. Some liberals and activists have called on President Mohamed Morsi to appoint a new Constituent Assembly, arguing that the present one is dominated by Islamists. The latter, however, deny this, saying the most important thing is for the CA to finish its work and the people can decide. "I call on President Morsi to re-form the Constituent Assembly, as he promised before the presidential election," political activist George Isaac has said. The CA, meanwhile, will decide later whether the Shura Council will continue to exist under the new constitution or not. Members of the Assembly who want to keep it say the Shura Council will have legislative powers and help People's Assembly in censorship and discussing laws. However, others say that we don't desperately need such a council, describing it as a waste of time and money. It has been reported that the final draft of the constitution will be ready within days; then the drafting committee will rewrite it, before it is submitted to a refer
