adminThe assembly — boycotted by liberals and Christians — has been accused of rushing through approval of the document, which is at the centre of a political crisis pitting Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president, against several opposition parties.
The articles approved include a unanimous decision to retain the principles of Islamic law as the main source of legislation.
However, a new article states that Al-Azhar, Egypt’s most respected Islamic institution, must be consulted on any matters related to Islamic law, a measure critics fear will lead to oversight of legislation by clerics.
The text of the 234 articles will be sent to President Morsi, and should be put to a referendum within two weeks, said Hossam al-Gheriani, the head of the assembly.
Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros, reporting from Tahrir Square, said the draft was being viewed as the “Muslim Brotherhood constitution”.
“People have already gathered here to join the thousands gathered in a sit-in for much of the past week,” she reported. “They’re here to protest against the recent decrees of the president, but also now against this draft constitution passed last night by the constituent assembly.
“They’re not just upset with the content, but the way in which it was rushed through. Only 85 out of the 100 members were actually present in that vote, the rest boycotted because they said their concerns were not being listened to.
“So you had a situation where most of the liberal secular forces weren’t involved, weren’t consulted all the way through this process and weren’t voting at the last moment. There wasn’t a single Christian member voting in that assembly last night, despite the fact that Christians make up more than 10 per cent of the population here, and there were only four women of the 100 member body and all those four women belong to religious parties, the Salafi and the Muslim Brotherhood party.
“So for the people here at least, this constitution is tainted, it’s not being seen as Egypt’s constitution, but as the Muslim Brotherhood’s constitution, and if at the end of the day the constitution is the foundation of a state, then, if this constitution is adopted, then we’re on very shaky ground in this country.”
The new charter limits the president’s term of office to two four-year terms, ending the system of unlimited tenure during the era of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years.
“We want a constitution we agree on,” said al-Gheriani, adding that the panel had been “awaiting” boycotting members even as it went to the vote.
The opposition, which has mobilised unprecedented rallies since Morsi assumed broad powers last week, accuses the president and his allies in the constituent assembly of railroading the charter through for a quick referendum.
The charter will replace the one suspended after Mubarak’s overthrow in early 2011.
The opposition has criticised the rushed manner in which the assembly was operating and opposes some of of the draft charter’s provisions on rights and freedoms.
Heba Morayef, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said some of the draft article provisions freedom of expression and religion resemble a “penal code.”
“You don’t list all the things that you are not allowed to do, you’re supposed to set up the rights and limitations,” she said. — Aljazeerah
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