CAIRO — During his presidency, Islamist allies of Mohammed Morsi pushed through a constitution that alarmed many Egyptians with its provisions strengthening the role of Islamic law and carving out extensive powers for the military. Now, after Morsi’s ouster, it is the turn of liberal, secular and leftist politicians to amend the charter.
But far from pushing through a radically new vision as many democracy advocates hoped, they are likely to preserve the Islamic law provisions and grant even greater powers to the military.
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There is only one Islamist politician on the 50-member panel amending the constitution — but his objections have been enough to prevent the secular politicians who dominate the assembly from acting. They fear doing so will drive his ultraconservative al-Nour Party into the streets to join the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists in their continuing protests against Morsi’s July 3 ouster.
At the same time, the military that toppled Morsi is pressuring the assembly to make it virtually independent of — or even above — the elected government. The panel has been sharply divided over an article that would allow the generals, not the president, to choose the defense minister — a sign of the army’s wariness of being under the control of an elected civilian.
Democracy advocates warn the provisions could erase other significant democracy gains that are in the final draft still being shaped.
New articles definitively guarantee freedom of faith, expression, thought and the press, better due process and bans on torture, said Bahey Eldin Hassan, head of the Cairo Institute For Human Rights. On the basis of those articles alone, “this will be the best constitution of all Egypt’s charters,” Hassan said.
But, he said, the controversial articles would “constrain those gains.” For example, Islamists could restrict civil liberties and rights of women and Christians by arguing they contradict Islamic Shariah law— an aim one ultraconservative cleric proudly boasted about when the articles were introduced last year.
Proposed amendments to ban religion-based political parties and lift restrictions on building churches could also run into contradictions with Shariah rules.
And granting an untouchable status to the military could give it political power over the government.
It “will only sow the seed for a military state,” said Hussein Abdel-Razek, a leftist politician in the assembly. “This logic is terrifying because it could simply end up with the army in power.”
Over the past week, panel members began approving a final draft, voting article by article. But they have only taken up uncontroversial portions, leaving contentious articles for last.
Fearing that Morsi supporters will exploit any sign of division, the panel has been working in secrecy. Sessions, which began in September, are being held behind closed doors — a stark contrast to the Islamist-dominated panel that wrote the constitution during Morsi’s year in power, in which sessions were televised.