Constituent Assembly Secretary General Amr Darrag said Wednesday that the final draft of the new constitution would be issued on 20 November after assembly members vote on it.
The draft would be put to a referendum during December, Darrag added during a seminar organized by Masr al-Kheir Foundation on the importance of scientific research under the new constitution.
Darrag said that the 1971 Constitution is unfit for the coming stage in Egypt, adding that since the 25 January revolution citizens should have a say in the constitution-drafting process, which is why there have been public discussions of it.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Mohey Eddin, rapporteur of the Constituent Assembly's defense and national security committee, said Thursday that the draft constitution would be completed before Monday, 19 November, after which assembly members would hold an internal vote on the document.
Mohey Eddin said in a press statement Thursday that the assembly will start next Sunday to discuss the final draft.
Constitutional expert and Constituent Assembly member Gaber Gad Nassar criticized what he described as "the haste of the assembly and its insistence to complete the constitution within two weeks."
He added that he and other members threatened to withdraw from the assembly because of "this weird haste."
Nassar said in a statement quoted by MENA that it was impossible to discuss and review the articles of the constitution in a few weeks.
Nassar added that a number of members proposed amendments to the constitutional articles on Wednesday.
The date has not been set to discuss the articles which are most serious, Nassar pointed out.
The state-run Al-Ahram website reported Thursday that 30 Constituent Assembly members issued "a statement to the nation" in which they rejected the two-week timeline set by the assembly. They warned that haste could lead to issuing a weak constitution that harms the nation.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
