Potential presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei said on Tuesday that sticking to the 1971 Constitution, even with amendments, would be an insult to the revolution that toppled former President Mubarak.
ElBaradei wrote on Twitter: “New regime = new democratic constitution reflecting national will. Keeping Mubarak's constitution, even temporarily, is insult to revolution.”
In another Tweet on Tuesday, he wrote: “Even within arbitrary 6 months transitional period, drafting a new constitution is doable. Why rush @ the expense of democracy?”
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces announced after Mubarak was toppled on 11 February that it would run the country for a six-month interim period, during which parliamentary and presidential elections would be held.
A committee of legal experts revealed last month a package of amendments to the current constitution limiting the presidency to a maximum of two terms, each of four years, and imposing restrictions to the Emergency Law.
The amendments didn’t include any changes to the absolute powers granted to the president in the 1971 Constitution. A referendum on these amendments is scheduled for this Saturday.
ElBaradei said that voting "Yes" in the referendum means elections under a distorted constitution and will eventually lead to electing a parliament that is unrepresentative of all political visions and aspirations of the Egyptian people.
ElBaradei also called for choosing a constituent assembly by the appointment or election of credible representatives of different factions of society, saying: “No need to reinvent the wheel.”
