Constituent Assembly member Manal al-Tiby resigned on Monday to protest what she described as “the dominance of political Islam over the assembly.”
Tiby said in a statement that she “reached a final decision that there is no point in continuing to be a member of the Constituent Assembly because the final product of the new constitution will not meet the expectations of the majority of Egyptians.”
She added that it has become clear that “the constitution is being drafted… to enable a specific current to establish a religious state so they can seize power.”
Tiby said that her resignation came in accordance with her conscience “as an Egyptian citizen loyal to the revolution.”
The Constituent Assembly was formed by the Islamist majority People’s Assembly, which was dissolved in June. Many have complained that the constitution-writing body is dominated by Muslim Brotherhood members and conservative Salafis.
An administrative court is considering a case requesting the disbandment of the assembly on the grounds that it is not representative of all members of Egyptian society.
The Constituent Assembly and the proposed constitutional articles have been the subject of criticism within and outside of the assembly.
Talaat al-Sadat, head of the Egypt National Party and former member of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, demanded that President Mohamed Morsy form another Constituent Assembly as soon as possible, due to the fact that the People’s Assembly that elected this body has been dissolved.
He added in a statement released by the party on Monday that "this assembly does not represent a consensus between political forces.”
Pointing out that the assembly is facing many lawsuits that threaten the completion of its work, Sadat asked, “Why do we continue to waste time in vain?"
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
