The Constituent Assembly’s make-up is exclusionary and does not meet standards set by interim President Adly Mansour, said a prominent Salafi leader on Monday.
Vice president of Salafi Da’wa (Salafi Calling), Yasser Borhamy elaborated in a press release the body included 11 leftist and Nasserist members, while there was only one Islamist.
Islamists and revolutionaries alike say they are underrepresented in the new Constituent Assembly assigned to amend the 2012 constitution, the make-up of which was publicised on Sunday.
Al Nour Party spokesman Sherif Taha told state-owned MENA that the formation of the assembly is “very bad, and expresses the control of the leftists and nationalists over the assembly, with a clear exclusion of Islamists.”
Taha added that any proposed amendments to the constitution will not be decided upon unanimously under such an assembly.
Taha said there is a possibility that El Zarka will withdraw his from the assembly.
The Revolutionary Powers Agglomeration also criticised the formation of the assembly.
Al-Ahram cited Mohamed Atteya from the political office of the agglomeration saying that the formation ignored revolutionary groups other than Tamarod and Al-Dostour Party. Atteya added that choosing two members from Tamarod, Mahmoud Badr and Mohamed Abdel Aziz, was wrong and that one would have been enough, allowing for the representation of other revolutionary powers.
El Dostour party member, Ahmed El Hawary, said that the party finds the formation satisfactory and consensual.
Emad Hamdy, spokesman for the Popular Current party said that the formation is balanced, bit “could have been better”.
Hamdy expressed the party’s hope for more youth and women’s representation, citing “dual representation” as a main reason for mediocre representation of the two demographics. “For example, a Coptic woman is included to represent women and Copts,” Hamdy explained. He later added that one advantage of the formation is the presence of communication channels between citizens and assembly members.
Spokesman for Free Egyptians Party, Shehab Wagih, said that the party accepts the formation but raises questions over “some names” that do not agree with the standards put for the assembly’s membership. Wagih refused to disclose these names.
Presidency also announced the names of the backup members for the constituent assembly on Sunday which included:
- Mohamed Shahat El Gendy, representative for El Azhar
- Mohamed Abdel Samad Mehanna, representative for El Azhar
- Mohga Ghaleb Abdel Rahman, representative for El Azhar
- Monsef Naguib Soliman, representative for the Coptic Orthodox Church
- Gamil Halim Habib, representative for the Coptic Orthodox Church
- Makram Lamei, representative for the Coptic Orthodox Church
- Amr Mohamed Ibrahim Darwish, representative for Youth
- Maha Abu Bakr, representative for Youth
- Wael Atteya, representative for Youth
- Mo’atamer Amin, representative for Youth
- Mohamed El Mekhzengy, representative for the Writers’ Union
- Sameh El Serity, actor, representative for Arts Syndicates Union
- Mostafa Hussein, cartoonist, representative for Applied Arts Syndicate
- Ahmed Abdel Mo’ty Hegazy, poet, representative for the Supreme Council for Culture
- Mohamed Wahab Allah, representative for the Workers’ Syndicates Union
- Yousry Maarouf, representative for the Workers’ Syndicates Union
- Mohamed Sobh El Dabsh, representative for the Farmers’ Syndicates Union
- Mohamed Rashed Aboul Wafa, representative for Farmers’ Syndicates Union
- Mohamed Ahmed Nagi, representative for Lawyers’ Syndicate
- Khaled Omara, representative for Doctors’ Syndicate
- Hussein Sabour, representative for Engineers’ Syndicate
- Gamal Fahmy, representative for Journalists’ Syndicate
- Moa’taz El Sayed, representative for Touristic Chambers Committee
- Mohamed Zaki El Sewidi, representative for Industrial Chambers Committee
- Mohamed Ateyya El Fayoumy, representative for Business Chambers Committee
- Hesham Ashraf Farag, representative for Egypt’s Students Union
- Mohamed Anwar Esmat El Sadat, representative for the Federation of Societies
- Amna Nosseir, representative for the National Council of Women
- Nehad Aboul Komsan, representative for the National Council of Motherhood and Childhood
- Omayma Edris, representative for the Supreme Council for Universities
- Nasser Amin, representative for the National Council for Human Rights
- Salah Abdel Hakim Mahmoud, representative for the disabled
- Maher Manna’ Mayhoub, representative for the Armed Forces
- Mohamed Saad Gawish, representative for Al Nour Party, Islamist
- Nageh Ibrahim, Islamist Thinker
- Naguib Abadeer, representative for Free Egyptians Party, Liberal
- Mohamed El Orabi, representative for El Mot’amar Party, Liberal
- Safaa Zaki Mourad, representative for the Popular Social Alliance Party, Leftist
- Salah El Deen El Desouky, representative for the Nasserist Popular Conference party, Nationalist
- Ahmed Rashwan, Judge
- Ibrahim Eissa, TV host and Journalist
- Mahmoud Kobeish, head of Law School, Cairo University
- Osama El Azhary, Academic representative for El Azhar
- Laila Takla, Coptic Politician
- Salah Eissa, journalist
- Waseem El Sisi, columnist and researcher
- Medhat Saad El Din, Judge
- Ezz El Deen Shokri Feshir, Novelist and Political Science professor
- Wahid Hamed, scriptwrite.
