Monday, February 28, 2011

By Marwa Awad
Reuters

CAIRO: Egypt’s military rulers are likely this week to lift restrictions that have long crushed political opposition and call a referendum on constitutional reforms next month, a lawyer who helped draft the changes said Sunday.
Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Sunday he intends to run for president.
The military is set to cancel a law which gave ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s administration the power to decide who was allowed to form a party, said Sobhi Saleh, a member of the 10-man judicial committee appointed by the military council.

It is also expected to call a March referendum on historic changes to the Constitution unveiled Saturday by the judicial committee, including reforms that will open up competition for the post of president.
The changes would also impose a two-term limit on future presidents.
“The military council hands power to the people in a gradual process,” Sobhi told Reuters. “The parties law will be cancelled,” he added.

The constitutional reforms will limit the time a leader can stay in the presidency to two terms of four years and ensure judicial oversight of elections. Mubarak was in his fifth six-year term when he was toppled on Feb. 11.
Moussa, 74, said in a statement it was his intention to run for the post of president but would make a decision later once the amendments are finalized.

The proposed constitutional amendments have not encountered major objections from opposition groups which had long called for the reforms outlined by the judicial committee.

However, many Egyptians say the country needs an entirely new constitution – something the judicial committee has said will happen after elections. “No one has objected to the constitutional amendments proposed,” Sobhi said.
Announcing the proposed constitutional amendments Saturday, retired Judge Tariq al-Bishri said a new constitution would be prepared after a presidential election.

The military council has suspended the existing Constitution and dissolved both houses of Parliament.
Elections to both the upper and lower chambers would follow the plebiscite, Saleh said, without saying when, and presidential polls would happen thereafter.

The reforms will make it much easier for Egyptians to run for the presidency, removing requirements which made it almost impossible for anyone but the ruling party and representatives of weak opposition parties to field a candidate for the post.

Saleh, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the army would continue to exercise presidential powers until the election of a new president.
The military council has said it hopes to hold the elections and hand power back to a civilian authority within six months.

Some opposition figures are concerned that a rush toward elections is not in the best interests of democratic change. Mubarak’s regime had suppressed opposition groups for decades and they say they need time to regroup.
They say only the Muslim Brotherhood is in the position to mount an election campaign, though the group says it will not seek a majority in Parliament or the presidency.
A quick election will also suit the remnants of the National Democratic Party, the ruling party which had dominated Parliament under Mubarak.

Egyptian authorities have mounted a legal campaign against symbols of Mubarak’s era, including ministers.
The trial of Habib al-Adli, the former interior minister, on charges including money laundering will begin on March 5.
Egypt has asked Interpol to arrest Rachid Mohammad Rachid, the former trade and industry minister, a source in the Public Prosecutor’s office said. He is wanted for trial on accusations of corruption.

Meanwhile, villagers in southern Egypt blocked the Assiut-Cairo highway with burning tires and set fire to three government buildings Sunday to protest official graft, witnesses said. Also in Assiut Province, hundreds of civil servants went on strike for better living conditions, saying senior officials are distributing social benefits unfairly.
Two senior U.S. senators toured Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where large-scale demonstrations calling for Mubarak’s ouster had taken place.

Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman and Republican Senator John McCain shook hands with passersby.
“We’re very happy to be here, it’s a very exciting new era for a great country, great history, great future,” Lieberman said. – With AP