There is no justification for political forces to object to the supplementary Constitutional Declaration issued by the military council on Sunday, said liberal Democratic Front Party leader Saeed Kamel on Thursday.
“Such objection reflects a desire to monopolize politics, marks an uncertain beginning for managing political disagreement and impairs the democratic experiment that has made Egypt a respectable nation,” Kamel said.
On Sunday, the SCAF added a supplement to the Constitutional Declaration that has been governing Egypt since March 2011. The move came following a court ruling that dissolved the Islamist-led People's Assembly on 14 June.
The supplement has limited the powers of the next president and added to those of the military council with respect to the state budget and the declaration of war, for which the president must first obtain the approval of the council.
In a statement on Thursday, Kamel said the supplement gives the president the right to appoint and dismiss the prime minister, the ministers, the ambassadors and the governors, and to discuss the state budget with the government and object to any decision.
“The supplement allows the president to summon the armed forces in case of turmoil, but only restricts him to keep the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as is until a permanent constitution determines the status of the armed forces and the legislative authority,” he said.
“The military council would only intervene in the formation of the Constituent Assembly in case there are obstacles to it, or if for some reason it was again found to be invalid,” he added.
Kamel criticized the demonstrations in front of Parliament that reject the Supreme Constitutional Court ruling resulting in its dissolution. “This is a threat to the independence of the judiciary by forces that do not take into account the fact that before they come to power, they must first respect the law,” he said.
MP Mohamed Abou Hamed on his Twitter page called on the people to read the supplementary Constitutional Declaration carefully, fearing their revolutionary zeal would serve the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“The declaration protects the constitution from control by religious groups and fortifies the decision of war against the jihadi illusions of the religious groups,” he wrote. “It also protects the legislative authority from exploitation by the next president until a new Parliament is elected.”
Abou Hamed concluded his message by saying that real legitimacy is that which supports and protects the will of the people, warning the revolutionaries against siding with the thuggery and political blackmailing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
