By Charlie Miller
The Cairo Centre for Development (CCD) wished to convey their ‘deep regret and objection’ in response to amendments made to 33 articles of the Egyptian constitution, a statement on their website read.
The non-governmental organisation claimed that the changes made were reminiscent of the 30 March 2011 constitution, introduced after the resignation of former president Hosni Mubarak.
The statement expressed disappointment in interim president Adly Mansour, whose declaration Monday “disappointed the hopes of … the great people of Egypt” who had “gone to the streets to overthrow the regime and not to just have reformations.”
The CCD branded the constitutional declaration, which was ratified by the president on Monday as “self-preserving” and “without substantial changes.”
Reference was made to a number of constitutional articles and outlined a number of areas for contention, namely that the declaration had been ratified without consultation with organisations who participated in the 30 June demonstrations, and that Mansour had not appointed a vice president at the time of the constitutional changes.
Complaints were also raised regarding legislative and executive powers granted to the interim president, the re-wording of a number of articles without consultation and claimed that the timeline for presidential elections did not have a defined ‘end point’, whereas the timeline for parliamentary elections was mapped out in its entirety.
The statement ended by urging Mansour to ‘respond to the demands of revolutionary forces’ by making changes to the declaration.
