Egypt’s President issues decree to start work on constitution

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Egypt’s new president has issued a decree for legal experts to start work amending the country’s constitution, which was suspended this month by the military, the state-run news website of Al-Ahram said on Saturday.

The committee of 10 experts will meet on Sunday and has just 15 days to come up with proposals to put before a broader-based body that will have a further 60 days to deliver a final draft, opening the way for fresh elections.

The suspended constitution was drawn up last year by an Islamist-dominated assembly that was boycotted by liberals and Christians, who said it failed to protect properly human rights and social justice.

Egypt’s military put the constitution on ice following the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsy on July 3.

The new draft is due to be voted on in a referendum, with the entire process set to take four months.

A revised constitution has to be in place before Egypt can hold fresh parliamentary elections which, according to a decree issued after Morsy’s removal, are expected within some six months. They will then be followed by a presidential vote.

Morsy’s Muslim Brotherhood is demanding the reinstatement of the deposed president and is refusing to recognize the new interim cabinet, sworn into office on Tuesday.

Many of Egypt’s political parties have voiced concern about how the new constitutional committees will be chosen. The Islamist-led committee that drafted the old constitution was drawn from elected parliamentarians.

http://www.expatcairo.com/egypts-president-issues-decree-to-start-work-on-constitution

Democracy attempt in Egypt, redux. Of course, the US didn't get it right the first time either, and our Constitution is still a work in progress.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Democracy attempt in Egypt, redux. Of course, the US didn't get it right the first time either, and our Constitution is still a work in progress.

Maybe number one should be the

The Govt shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..

That would go a long way toward straightening out a lot of those violence torn places

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Democracy attempt in Egypt, redux. Of course, the US didn't get it right the first time either, and our Constitution is still a work in progress.

How can it be a democracy when the results of a free and democratic election can be overturned by military coup ?

How can it be a democracy when parties winning the votes of more than half of the population are excluded from the government ?

I went through it in another thread in the MENA forum:

What has happened is essentially this:

The Egyptian army has controlled the presidency since Nasser, who was followed by Sadat, then Mubarak - all career military guys.

Mubarak was there forever as a dictator and most of his people hated him. They had bogus elections, and each time Mubarak won with 99% of the vote. He enforced US/Israeli objectives, and so he was given the $1.5 billion every year in aid. Most of that money went into Mubarak's personal bank account and to the military, especially the elites, to perpetuate the regime. But he didn't really do anything to help Egyptian people make their lives better, and he ran a brutal and oppressive regime which shut down dissent and the free press.

This was all fine with the army generals. (Do not confuse the generals and other military elites with the rank-and-file soldiers, who are drafted from the mostly poor population of Egypt, are poorly paid, and are even used as a cheap labor force to work for various military-owned/quasi-private businesses, which account for up to 20% of the country's GDP.)

But then Mubarak made his fatal mistake - he tried to position his son, Gamal - who was not a military guy and who never served in the army - as his successor. This was intolerable to the elite in the military - they want one of their own in that president's chair. They don't want all that money going to anyone but their own.

When the popular protests against Mubarak started, inspired by the ones in Tunisia, it was quite convenient. The army stood down and let it happen - they allowed Mubarak to be removed.

Then there were elections, pitting an army general against a Muslim Brotherhood candidate. Everyone saw that the MB (the largest and most popular political party in Egypt) had a clear majority to win. So before election day, the military moved to strip the president's office of most of his powers, and made a few other changes to the government to try to keep power in the hands of their own supporters.

Morsi was never able to get back control of the military, or the security services, or the courts. But he took the blame for the inability to change the status quo.

Fast-forward to now. The military joined forces with the state security services and former Mubarak supporters to launch a coup to reinstate the military's control of the country.

Essentially, there was a revolution to remove the old regime and install a new one - which has now been overthrown by the military, and is now busy re-installing the old regime.

[Dan and Judy 614]

The military has a tiger by the tail. They are going to have to kill Morsy to put an end to demands for his return. Perhaps he could slip in the shower.

I'd say the Muslim Brotherhood has a right and a duty to revolt violently . if you let them into the goverment they will just be working to bring it down. I see a lot of dead people coming soon.

[Dan and Judy 614]

Maybe number one should be the

The Govt shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..

That would go a long way toward straightening out a lot of those violence torn places

I think the problem with that idea is that is not what they want.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

I think the problem with that idea is that is not what they want.

Oh yes agreence. Just saying if that would get religious fundamentalism out of the way they could progress

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Opinion poll: 71% of Egyptians do not sympathize with pro-Morsy protesters

An opinion poll conducted by the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research “Baseera” on the extent to which Egyptians sympathise with protests staged in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsy showed that 71 percent do not sympathise with the protesters, while 20 percent sympathise with them.

9 percent said they did not have a specific position with regards to the protests.

21 percent of residents of rural areas sympathised with the protesters while 67 percent did not.

In urban areas, 17 percent sympathised with the protesters while 77 percent did not.

Residents of Upper Egypt accounted for the largest percentage of sympathisers with 27 percent of residents sympathising with them compared to 15 percent in Lower Egypt and 16 percent in urban governorates.

Men showed less sympathy for the protests, with 78 percent not sympathising with the protesters compared to 65 percent of women. A larger percentage of women failed to state a position on the protests, with 15 percent giving a neutral opinion compared to 3 percent of males having a similar position.

Sympathy for protests seemed inversely proportional to age, as 24 percent of the youth aged 18 to 29 sympathised with the protests compared to 14 percent for those aged 50 or above.

Sympathy increased among people with a higher educational level. 18 percent of those with below intermediate education degrees sympathised with the protesters while 26 percent of those with a university degree or higher sympathised with them. 14 percent of those with below intermediate education stayed neutral compared to three percent of those who possess a university degree or higher.

http://www.expatcairo.com/opinion-poll-71-of-egyptians-do-not-sympathize-with-pro-morsy-protesters/

[GandD 5,966]

I disagree with a populous's right to elect a theocracy. The right to practice any/no religion should be a right guaranteed in all countries. Not just the ones people vote to allow.

[Jacque67 7,328]

I see parallels with the GZ case!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I disagree with a populous's right to elect a theocracy. The right to practice any/no religion should be a right guaranteed in all countries. Not just the ones people vote to allow.

So, you support the military coup. Interesting.

[Darnell 8,478]

any theocracy should not be elected, IMO.

power seized, sure.

power given by The God, ok la.

but to elect a leader of a theocracy? no no no..

[GandD 5,966]

So, you support the military coup. Interesting.

Here's the deal. I don't know what these guys need but they need a route to a real democracy. My worry about countries that have hit rock bottom is that they'll vote for someone that guarantees a route to prominence through religion or nationalism or some other form of pandering. Its exactly what Hitler did. I know they need time to figure it out but I don't want Egypt's people getting tricked into voting for another group that wants to control their freedoms.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Here's the deal. I don't know what these guys need but they need a route to a real democracy. My worry about countries that have hit rock bottom is that they'll vote for someone that guarantees a route to prominence through religion or nationalism or some other form of pandering. Its exactly what Hitler did. I know they need time to figure it out but I don't want Egypt's people getting tricked into voting for another group that wants to control their freedoms.

Democracy is all about self-determination. Why do you hate democracy?

[Teddy B 17,252]

How can it be a democracy when the results of a free and democratic election can be overturned by military coup ?

How can it be a democracy when parties winning the votes of more than half of the population are excluded from the government ?

[mota bhai 2,675]

I don't see why y'all have such a hard-on for democracy. Democratic or not, as long as Egypt is stable and predictable and not an enemy of Israel, I think it's all good.