CAIRO, Nov 28, 2012 (AFP)
THE text of Egypt’s new constitution was set to be completed later today, the drafting committee said, with the controversial document at the heart of a legal and ideological battle to be put to a subsequent vote.
“The discussions over the draft of the constitution will be finished today, to be followed by voting,” Ahmed Darrag, the secretary general of the constituent assembly said in remarks carried by the official MENA news agency.
The head of the Islamist-dominated panel, Hossam al-Gheriani, urged the liberal, leftist and Coptic members who walked out to “come back and finish the discussion on Thursay.”
“Tomorrow will be a great day,” Mr Gheriani said.
The surprise move comes as the country is deeply divided over the constituent assembly which critics have slammed for failing to represent all Egyptians.
Anger over the document was exacerbated following a decree by President Mohamed Morsi granting himself sweeping powers and barring the courts from dissolving the panel.
The Supreme Constitutional Court had been due to review the legality of the drafting committee on Sunday, but its fate hangs in the balance amid the constitutional vacuum.
Human rights groups have criticised the move to rush through the constitution.
“This is not a healthy moment to be pushing through a constitution because this is an extremely divisive moment,” Human Rights Watch Egypt director Heba Morayef told AFP.
“Human rights groups have very serious concerns about some of the rights protections in the latest drafts we’ve seen,” she said.
