Egypt: Al-Nour Party Expresses Reservations about the Term “Civil” State in Constitutional Amendments

While the Salafist al-Nour Party didn’t object the proposed amendment to the constitution aimed at extending the presidential term, Ahmed Khalil Khairallah, the head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, declared on February 13 the party’s rejection of the amendments to other proposed articles regarding the civil state, quota for women, and the judiciary amongst others.

The stance of al-Nour Party (the political arm of the Salafi Call Society formed after the Egyptian revolution of 2011) is at variance with other Egyptian parties with Islamic reference. These parties were all banned except for al-Nour following the military coup in July 2013.

The party considered that the term “civil” comes in contradiction to article 2 of the constitution deemed as a supra-constitutional principle. Article 2 states that Islam is the religion of the state, Arabic is its official language, and principles of Sharia law are the main source of legislation.

Khairallah claimed that he rejects the quota for women in order not to instill any discrimination among groups of the same community. Whereas, his rejection of the amendments related to the judiciary is based on the risk of merging powers it allows, which is incompatible with the principle of the separation of powers.

The party concluded its statement asserting its partial approval of the amendments and that its overall final stance regarding the constitutional amendments won’t be formed until the final draft is issued, indicating that the party seeks reconciliation between all view-points to ensure the country’s best interest.

Egypt: The Muslim Brotherhood Describes Constitutional Amendments as Disastrous Play

In a statement issued on February 13 following the execution of some of its members, the Muslim Brotherhood called the Egyptian people to a “general uprising” against the coup. The Brotherhood stated: “What the country is witnessing today, including the frantic attempts to cobble the false coup constitution with articles that ordain the military rule and decree oppression, tyranny, and individual power, lead us, once again, to stress on the importance of a swift popular action in order to prevent this disastrous play and to oust the coup.”

The Brotherhood called upon the United Nations and all the international and regional rights and legal organizations to break their silence and take swift action to hold these conspirators accountable for their crimes and to stop them from perpetrating more crimes with fabricated charges, according to the statement.

On his part, Gamal Heshmat, the Muslim Brotherhood leader and ex-MP stated that the aim of constitutional amendments currently being discussed by the Egyptian parliament is to establish military rule in Egypt by law.

In an exclusive statement to Al Sharq Forum, the Brotherhood leader commented on the referendum saying, “I support positive boycotting which can expose the government that insists on sentencing innocent youths to death in fabricated cases”.

He added that a “no” vote cast in the shadow of an oppressive and corrupt system will be of little value except ensuring a higher rate of participation to the benefit of who will not respond to any calls for international supervision.

This comes against the backdrop of the Egyptian parliament adopting amendments to a number of constitutional articles including some related to the judiciary and other related to presidential terms.

Tunisia: Ennahda Party Restructures its Body with Inner Elections

Tunisia’s Ennahda party announced the launching of its organizational revamping process in more than 280 localities. In a statement published on the movement’s website, it clarified that the revamping process and elections will begin in the second half of this February.

The statement pointed out that the movement’s Consultative Council is proud of “the circulating opinions and intellectual and political stances within the movement, as well as the discussions, debates, and dialogue which have been a factor in enriching and developing the movement’s attitudes and stances since its establishment. And most of the movement’s organizations are no strangers to deep dialogues that manifest in the stances most expressive of its supporters’ collective conscience and the aspirations of the social strata it represents”.

On his part, Ennahda leader, Lotfi Zeitoun, said in statements exclusive to “Al Sharq Forum” that “elections are being held at the level of middle management in more than 280 localities”.

He also clarified that the elections aim at “establishing democracy within the party and bringing new blood onboard” expecting the elections to be over by the end of March”.

In addition, he pointed out that “the movement will start its plan to select its candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections’.

Zeitoun expressed his aspirations for “the movement to carry out a series of reforms and the elections as one manifestation of these desired reforms”. He also considered that “sought-after reform is the complete transformation of Ennahda into a civil movement”.