• EGYPT
  • November 14, 2011
  • 11 minutes read

Egypt’s Political Stakeholders Demand Handover of Power to Elected Civilians by April 2012

Egypt’s Political Stakeholders Demand Handover of Power to Elected Civilians by April 2012

Statement of Egyptian Parties, Political Stakeholder and Presidential Candidates Attending FJP Meeting, Sunday 13/11/2011

At the beginning of the meeting, attendees heard a report from Dr. Wahid Abdel Meguid, Chairman of the Monitoring Committee, about the Committee’s communications with various parties and political stakeholders and about his meeting, earlier that same day, with Dr. Ali Selmi, Deputy Prime Minister, and Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Minister of Tourism. 

After extensive debate, with full participation of all attendees, they issued the following statement:

Full Statement Text

Attendees of the meeting of political parties, stakeholders and presidential candidates believe that the Egyptian public who has regained its right of choice is the source of power and sovereignty. Hence, they have hereby renewed their commitment to this right and their determination to protect it and resist any attempts to restrict it or to impose guardianship on its will. Furthermore, they are determined that the new constitution will express and reflect national consensus, the will of the people and free participation.

Attendees announced their rejection of the draft “Declaration of the Basic Principles of the Constitution of the Modern Egyptian State” as put forward recently, which sparked wide controversy. They stressed that their opposition to the above document stems from their principled position, and aims to protect the vital role of the people, and to reject any confiscation of its will.

Since this is the goal of meeting, they have studied previous documents and initiatives which had already been made, beginning with Azhar document and the Democratic Alliance’s Code of Honour, as well as the Council of Ministers’ first draft document. The latter had been presented to many political parties and stakeholders without Articles IX and X, which were added in the last version, and without the final section on “Criteria for the Formation of the Constituent Assembly” for drafting the Constitution. This consensus makes these documents and initiatives valid and fit to guide the drafting of the Constitution, and a code of conduct to be adhered to by all voluntarily, and a choice that does not get imposed on anyone, but leaves it to the popular will expressed in the new Constitution. In recognition of the patriotic role of the Armed Forces, and in confirmation of the principled position of this meeting’s attendees, they assert the following:

The elected Constituent Committee which will be formed by the will of the People’s Assembly and Shura Council to draw up a new constitution: The attendees find that this should be a consensus committee selected not only by members of the parliamentary majority, but should represent all Egyptian people, groups, stakeholders, institutions, political currents and trends, in a way that should make it an accurate reflection of Egyptian society, which makes them able to draft a constitution that reflects the national consensus, and receives the consent of all segments of society. They stress that granting the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Supreme Constitutional Court the right to Veto the work of a Constituent Assembly that reflects the national consensus is inconsistent with the objective of that consensus, confiscates the will of the people entrusted with the exclusion of all others to express an opinion on the draft constitution – acceptance or rejection, and contradicts the clear text at the top of the draft document, which confirms that “The people are the source of authority, and the people’s will should not be confiscated in any way, or by means of establishing any supra or above constitutional principles that would not be changed, and without the need to any new constitutional declaration or otherwise, where the will of the people is enough,”.

The Armed Forces, which protected the Egyptian revolution, will remain with all its great history of patriotism in the hearts and minds of all Egyptians, ready and willing to defend it, just as it defends the borders of the homeland. Therefore, the attendees emphasise that the Armed Forces has its distinctive status and special detailed affairs linked to national security, which must be taken into account when drafting the constitution, so as to put them in their rightful place and to achieve its technical specificity, taking into account these special issues when discussing their budget – without the need for any constitutional declarations for this at the present time; and that the Armed Forces, like other institutions of the Executive Authority, is committed to the constitutional and legislative controls.

A timetable should be declared for the handover of power to elected civilian rule, that should end with the presidential election within the month of April 2012.

Therefore, all political parties and stakeholders attending the meeting call upon SCAF, the government and national stakeholders to end the arguments and controversy surrounding this subject, and agree on what the above-mentioned guideline documents and initiatives offered, and which have already been agreed upon in Al-Azhar and in meetings of the Democratic Alliance and the national stakeholders. They also demand that SCAF should declare a timetable for the handover of power so that it indeed takes effect on the date mentioned above.

The meeting was attended by:

First, Presidential Candidates

1. Dr. Mohamed Salim Al.Awa

2. Dr. Abdullah Ashaal

3. Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh

4. Dr. Ayman Nour

5. Ambassador Hesham Youssef, representing Mr. Amr Moussa

6. Dr. Fouad Abdel.Nabi

7. Dr. Abu Bakr Ahmed Bayoumi

 

Second, the parties

1. Freedom and Justice

2. Ghadd Al-Thawra

3. Asala

4. Al-Jeel (Generation)

5. Karama (Dignity)

6. Development and Freedom

7.  Islah & Nahda (Reform and Rejuvenation)

8. Forsan Al-Mostakbal (Knights of the Future)

9. Al-Hadara (Civilization)

10. Egypt Arab Socialist Party

11. Construction and Development Party

12. Al-Wasat (Centre) Party

13. Al-Islah (Reform) Party

14. Al-Tawhid Al-Arabi (Arab Unification) Party

15. Labour Party

16. Party of Peace and Development

17. Al-wa’ey (Awareness) Party

18. Adl (Justice) Party

 

Third, public figures:

1. Counsellor Mahmoud al-Khodeiri

2. Dr. Wahid Abdel Meguid

3. Ambassador Mohamed Tahtawi

4. Haj Abd al-Rahman Shukri, chairman of the farmers’ union

5. Counselor Mohamed Fouad Jadallah

6. General Mahmoud al-Bashir

7. Dr. Mohamed Mukhaimar Mahmoud

 

National and Popular Movements:

1. The Movement Of Popular Consensus

2. The National Independence Movement

3. Revolution Youth Union

4. Coalition Of Egyptian Athletes

5. April 6 Youth Movement

6. Coordinating Committee For The Masses Of The Revolution

7. January 25 Revolution Youth Movement

8. Free Front Of Peaceful Change

9. The Free Egyptian Movement

10. Protectors Of The Revolution Front