A constitutional expert called on Wednesday for turning Egypt into a parliamentary republic through the constitutional amendments currently being considered by a panel commissioned by Egypt's Supreme Military Council.
A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic operates under a parliamentary system of government–meaning a system with no clear-cut separation between the executive and legislative branches, but with a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state. The head of government would hold the real power.
Yahia al-Gamal, former Minister of Local Development and a professor of constitutional law, told state-run radio on Wednesday that Article 76 of the current Constitution–which delineates requirements for presidential nomination–"is a constitutional sin and the worst article in the whole world."
The article paves the way for the ruling National Democratic Party to exclusively field candidates, he said.
Al-Gamal added that the article is being given priority among those articles subject to change, as mentioned in the statement of the Supreme Military Council, which assumed control from President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February.
