(AFP File Photo)
All articles of the constitution are in the drafting procedure, except articles relating to the judicial authority and the Armed Forces, Constituent Assembly spokesman Mohamed Salmawy announced Wednesday.
Salmawy said several articles had been reviewed and finalised in a Monday session which continued late into the night. These articles mainly revolved around the proper procedures for trying a president, prime minister and ministers.
In a press release he said that the constitution would contain more than “200 articles, including 20 newly added articles which were not present in previous Egyptian constitutions, mostly relating to freedoms.”
The Constituent Assembly also announced that there are new methods to try the president through a new institution, adding that they had “used articles derived from the French constitution in drafting the system of government, bearing in mind the nature of Egyptian politics.”
The spokesman also said that the “articles which were decided upon concern the charge of treason directed at the president,” clarifying that “the new amendment stipulates the requirement of parliamentary consent before charging the president… the newly decided articles will regulate areas relating to criminal offenses committed by officials in the line of work.”
On Monday the assembly concluded over 100 articles in the constitution, namely those related to the governance system, culture, monuments and heritage.
Salmawy clarified that the articles currently being drafted are not final and will still be reviewed by the 10-member expert committee.
Articles related to the judiciary amount to 13, while those concerning the Armed Forces amount to five. The 10-member legal expert committee, assigned by Adly Mansour to amend the articles of the 2012 constitution on 21 July, agreed on retaining these articles without modification. The only modification came after the 10-member committee amended Article 197, which originally allowed the national defense council to discuss the military budget.
Constituent Assembly Chairman Amr Moussa tweeted Wednesday that “there are attempts to distort the work of the session through distracting the committee members” adding that “the committee is going to continue their work despite the existence of conspiracies.”
