The National Association for Change (NAC) is collecting signatures on a letter requesting Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to delegate authority to the State Council to decide whether the constitution should be written before parliamentary elections.
The NAC takes the position that basing the new constitution on provisional principles announced by the military council would be too complicated.
It also believes that the party that wins the majority of seats in parliament should not have sole authority in writing the new constitution.
In related news, an earlier statement by Sharaf, in which he stated agreement with the idea of postponing elections, raised controversial reactions. While NAC coordinator Ahmed Derag also supported the postponement, Wafd Party President al-Sayed al-Badawy said he supported holding parliamentary elections in September as planned.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
