Political Parties and Presidential Candidates Reject Selmi Initiatives

The constitutional initiatives proposed by Dr. Ali Selmi, Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt, on establishing so called basic principles for drafting the Egyptian Constitution, away from the popular will of the Egyptians, is facing a major challenge in Egypt, with Islamists, liberals and leftists as well as potential nominees for the presidency and revolutionary coalitions rejecting them and calling for the resignation of Dr. Ali Selmi.

Meeting held at the headquarters of Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on Wednesday in the presence of Dr. Mohamed Salim Al-Awa and Dr. Ayman Nour and Dr. Abdullah Ashaal and Ambassador Hesham Youssef (representing Mr. Amr Moussa), the Muslim Brotherhood and the FJP, Al-Wassat, Al-Adl, Asala, Egypt Arab Socialist party, Hadara, Islah & Nahda, Freedom and Development, Construction and Development, and also the Movement of Popular Consensus, the Movement of Tahrir Free Revolutionaries and Dr. Adel Ahmed Abdul-Mawjoud, member of the Egyptian Writers Union.

Statement releaed following the meeting rejected the Deputy Prime Minister’s initiative on the basic principles of the Constitution stressing that it circumvents the free will of the people, who will choose their representatives and entrust them with the task of selecting members of the Drafting Committee, and that this Committee will be inspired by the Egyptian people in drawing up the Constitution so it would represent and reflect the Egyptian public with all its components.

The statement, a copy of which was obtained by IkhwanWeb, considers “the Selmi initiative custodianship of public will, something which the January 25 Revolution aimed to abolish."

The statement signatories demanded the withdrawal of the so-called Selmi initiative, support for the will and freedom of the people, and upholding of the free democratic state principle all Egyptians aspired to.

They also called upon the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to declare its position clearly, to repudiate the rejected initiative, to dismiss Dr. Selmi, and to end all argument on this issue.

Dr. Selmi’s so-called Constitutional Principles document, in its ninth ‘article’, tried to grant the Egyptian army full hegemony and control of the country’s future, all over again. The statement of the various parties, political stakeholders and presidential candidates described that article as: "Loaded with negative issues that are incompatible with the January Revolution."

The statement stated that those who fear the Egyptian popular will is endeavouring to provoke SCAF against the free will of the people, in an attempt to make some fearful of the people’s choices. Hence, they try to impose rules on the people, and then get the armed forces involved.

The statement stressed that those parties and political stakeholders will explore all means necessary to face this blatant confiscation of popular will, if Selmi insists on it, will form a committee to follow up the situation, and propose the necessary steps to prepare for mass protests leading to a great million-man march and demonstration on Friday, November 18th, if the government does not respond by withdrawing the Constitutional Principles document, if SCAF does not declare a timetable for the handover of power to elected civilian rule, and if presidential elections does not begin by a date not later than April 2012. The committee will follow up on that, as well.

The statement also called upon the great Egyptian people to uphold its inalienable right to a Constitution which expresses its popular will, through the highest parliamentary elections turnout, and not to allow any attempts to cancel these elections or tampered with its results or processes.