The undersecretary of the political party Masr al-Hurryea (The Egypt Freedom Party), Amr Hamzawy, rejected a document proposed by Ali el-Selmy for supra-constitutional principles at a symposium at Diwan bookstore Thursday. Hamzawy, a prominent academic, said the document provided the army with more authority, which contradicts the idea of a civil state. He denounced the army acquiring privileges. Hamzawy said that the army budget should be discussed in the parliament and, if classified, it could be discussed in closed parliamentary sessions. Hamzawy said that he agrees with many of the document's articles but the ninth article. He said the time is not convenient to issue such a document as the political agenda is now concerned with parliamentary elections. In case the document produces more disputes in the political arena, it should be postponed to after the parliamentary elections, according to Hamzawy. "The standards of the constituent assembly selection should be reviewed,” Hamzawy said. “It should include only 20 percent of parliament members and the rest must be from the rest of the political trends." Fourteen political parties and four presidential candidates have rejected the document and asked the military council to dismiss Selmy.
