Sources said that the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) could not participate in the demonstrations scheduled to be on November 18, while it waits for a formal statement from Egypt's Cabinet regarding amendments on a set of constitutional guidelines proposed by Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Ali el-Selmy. A spokesman of the MB, Mahmoud Ghazlan, said that the group would not abandon its position regarding the constitutional principals document introduced by Selmy, demanding that the government amend it to deal with different political forces' demands. He also demanded the government announce that the document is non-binding, criticizing the government for not conducting a referendum to know the will of Egyptians. Ghazlan added that the MB and its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) would not participate in Nov. 18 protests to reject the principles, if the document is amended. He also supported demands raised by different political and national powers that the ruling military Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to hand over power to a civil authority in the near future. A member of the executive office of the FJP, Saad al-Hussieny, said that recent consultations conducted with the government about the document were positive. "There was an understanding between government political powers while we await what the Cabinet will issue," he said. He added that political forces refuse to provide Egypt's military institution expanding authority. On the other hand, the legal adviser of the FJP, Ahmed Abou Baraka, said that he expects the MB to participate in demonstrations scheduled for Nov. 18 even if the document is abandoned. He added that the party would announce its position regarding participating in the demonstration after conducting a meeting Wednesday. Abou Baraka also expressed his support for handing over power to a civilian authority in April at the latest. He added that if the government announced the document as a set of guidelines, like other documents issued by Al-Azhar or the Democratic Coalition for Egypt, the government would not need to conduct a referendum about Selmy's document.
