A senior official with the Salafi-oriented Nour Party has declared that the constitution-writing dilemma will be resolved on Thursday when a final decision is issued in a meeting between the ruling military council and political forces.
Al-Sayyed Mostafa Khalifa, the Nour Party's deputy chairman, told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Wednesday that the People's Assembly should issue legislation outlining the makeup of the anticipated 100-member assembly formation, which had been agreed upon during a meeting on Tuesday between the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and 18 political parties.
Khalifa revealed that attendants at the Tuesday meeting had agreed to allocate 37 of the Constituent Assembly seats to political parties, 20 to youth and public figures, nine to legal experts, six to judicial bodies, five to Al-Azhar, four to the church, one seat each for the ministries of interior and justice, and one for the armed forces.
“As soon as the Freedom and Justice Party and other parties that failed to attend the meeting agree to the outcome, legislation including those standards will be issued so as to avoid legal challenges against the formation,” he said.
Khalifa added that his party contacted the FJP, whose members said they have no problem with the agreed upon allocations.
Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Nour Party MP Talaat Marzouk dismissed the SCAF’s intervention in the Constituent Assembly issue as an encroachment on Parliament’s authority.
Meanwhile, Adel Afify, chairman of the Asala Party, another Salafi-led party, stressed that the SCAF does not intend to unilaterally set standards for the Constituent Assembly formation.
“Had that been true, the SCAF would have done it without consulting political forces,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
