Nour Party spokesperson Sherief Taha said Thursday via Facebook that the Party would vote “yes” to the draft constitution in the upcoming January referendum.
Passing the constitution will bring stability and “spare the country more anarchy,” party head Younes Makhyoun said in remarks reported by Reuters.
According to party-affiliated Akher al-Anba news portal, Makhyoun said “no faction can achieve what they want in the constitution as a balance must be achieved.”
Nour is Egypt’s second-largest Islamist party and the largest political group rooted in the Salafist movement. They supported the army-backed ousting of Morsy and were represented in the recent drafting of the constitution.
The party participated in the constitution committee in order to “end the exclusion of Islamists,” according to Makhyoun’s statement in a Giza press conference.
Other groups have also come out in favor of the constitution, such as Tamarod, the National Council for Women and many church representatives. Tamarod says although it admits the constitution is not perfect, it goes a long ways to improve the 2012 constitution. While other women's rights groups have rejected the constitution, the NCW chief Mervat al-Tallawi expressed that they have done their best and Egyptians must vote “yes” “so the roadmap can go on,”
Meanwhile, the constitution has rallied other groups who oppose it for two main reasons: enshrining the strength of the military and allowing military trials for civilians.
The Strong Egypt Party, led by Abdel Moniem Abou el Fotouh, as well as the April 6 Youth Movement, led by Ahmed Maher, have both come out against the constitution and are urging Egyptians for a “no” vote. They are concerned about the article which requires the approval of the army before dismissing the defense minister, as well as allowing military trials for civilians if they are determined to be a threat to the army.
The groups also criticized the new constitution for giving the president strong powers to dissolve parliament after a referendum.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
