Some 500 activists on Sunday launched a campaign to collect 1 million signatures calling for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, which they say does not adequately represent all segments of Egyptian society.
The assembly, which comprises 100 members and has a strong Islamist representation, was appointed by the People’s Assembly, which was disbanded in June by a court order which said its elections were unconstitutional.
The courts are currently considering lawsuits challenging the validity of the Constituent Assembly, charging that it was illegal for the People’s Assembly to appoint its own members to the constitution-writing body.
“We want a constitution that expresses the ambitions of the Egyptian people and the revolution,” said Mohamed al-Gilany, coordinator of the signature campaign, called A Million Signatures to Refuse the Constituent Assembly. He pointed out that President Mohamed Morsy had promised to reformulate the Constituent Assembly during his presidential campaign.
In the event the assembly is dissolved, the president is legally obligated to form a new body that represents the entire spectrum of Egyptian society, according to the supplement to Constitutional Declaration issued in June.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
