Chairman of the Committee of 50 Amr Moussa handed over the proposed amended constitution to interim President Adly Mansour on Tuesday at the Ittihadiya presidential palace.
Moussa called on Egyptians to vote “yes” in the upcoming constitutional referendum during a press conference following his meeting with Mansour, adding that the ratification of the constitution would help the country exit its period of “strife and severe sedition” and its “dangerous situation”.
The chairman of the committee also expressed his confidence that the constitution would be approved in the upcoming public referendum and ratified. Moussa also said that the interim president would have the right to express his views on any part of the constitution and that the Committee of 50 then had a right to respond to such views or recommendations.
The chairman and former presidential candidate added that there had been no contact between the group tasked with amending the constitution and the presidency throughout the drafting process and that no parties or institution had interfered in the process.
The constitutional declaration, issued by Mansour following his appointment, dictates that the interim president presents the amended constitution to the people within thirty days after he receives it.
If the constitution were to pass, it would be ratified and enforced immediately and a date to hold elections would be announced within 15 days.
Moussa confirmed that the committee had decided to leave the decision of whether presidential or parliamentary elections would come first to the law, which is expected to be issued by the interim president.
He also commented on the article stipulating that the president over the next two presidential terms must consult the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces before selecting a Minister of Defence, stressing that the stipulation was transitional and came about as a result of “attacks directed at the armed forces every day.”
Moussa stated that until the referendum, the committee would continue its work through promoting the amended constitution and clarifying aspects of it to voters ahead of the polls.
