SCAF, Egypt Parties settle on Constitution Commission

Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and leaders of the country’s major parties have agreed on the make-up of the commission to draft a new constitution.

The council will include representatives of major parties, Muslim and Christian spiritual leaders, lawyers, constitutional law experts, judiciary representatives, farmers and workers, public figures and students. Activists for the rights of women and disabled persons will also be invited.

The draft constitution is to be approved by two thirds of the council’s members. The commission is to present the final version of the draft document until the presidential elections’ runoff due on June 16-17.

The final make-up of the commission is to be approved by both chambers of the Egyptian parliament at a special session.

Egypt’s previous constitution was scrapped by the interim military authorities when they came into power in February 2011, following a major uprising against the rule of Hosni Mubarak. They announced a constitutional declaration to act as the country’s main set of laws during a transitional period.

The drafting of a new constitution has long been stalled by controversies over the constitutional commission, which in its previous version was dominated by Islamists, according to MENA.