The bill of civil rights that potential presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei proposed on Wednesday raised controversy among political circles, with some advocating the bill and others criticizing the effort.
“ElBaradei is seeking the support of the Muslim Brotherhood with his bill. I find it a threat to the civil state,” said Tagammu Party President Refaat al-Saeed.
“The bill did not come up with anything new,” said former Court of Cassation Vice President Mahmoud al-Khodary, rejecting the idea of holding a referendum on the proposal.
Abdel Rahman al-Gohary, coordinator of the Kefaya movement in Alexandria, said the bill contains no clear mechanisms for its implementation.
But George Ishaq, founder of Kefaya and a member of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights, said the bill was a good step.
“There are many other bills in this regard,” he said. “Perhaps they should be amalgamated in one version for all political forces to agree on.”
Khaled al-Zaafarany, representative of the Justice and Development Party, said, “The bill is fine, but the problem is with ElBaradei himself, who does not enjoy broad consensus.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition
