February 15th, 2011 by Kyle

Egypt’s Supreme Military Council has vowed to re-write the constitution within 10 days and put it up for a referendum within 2 months. A Constitutional Committee has been created with the task of overseeing this process. Tareq al-Bishry, a retired judge and strong supporter of an independent judiciary in Egypt, has been named as the head of this committee. Al-Shurouk newspaper has reported that the committee consists of “approximately ten” members, and it lists 5 of those members (other than el-Bishry): Atef al-Banna,  a liberal who is a former member of the Wafd Party; Sobhi Salah, former Brotherhood Member of Parliament; and three judges with experience on the Supreme Constitutional Court: Maher Sami Youssef, Hatem Bagato, and Hassan Badrawi. Another POMED contact states that Mohammed Hassanein Abdelaal has also been named to the committee who, along with Youssef, was also on the constitutional committee announced by Omar Suleiman prior to Mubarak’s departure. 

The committee has received popular support due to al-Bishry’s track record in promoting democratic reforms. However, many have criticized the committee due to the over-representation of Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood figures, the apparent absence of any women or Christians and the lack of transparency in the process or criteria in the selection of this committee.

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Reform |