Presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei on Wednesday said that the liberal Wafd Party has approved the bill of rights he presented earlier for public debate.
ElBaradei intends the charter to be included in Egypt's new constitution. He said the transition period requires consensus among political groups, aside from competition over upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
He said he discussed, in a meeting with Wafd leaders, the means for achieving a unified list of candidates for parliamentary elections, and the possibility of adopting a list-based system of election. Under such a system, each party or coalition of parties fields a list of candidates, the number of whom are elected depends upon the total vote percentage the party receives.
The former International Atomic Energy Agency director stressed that he is open to dialogue with all political groups over his human rights document which, he hoped, would act as a cornerstone for the new constitution.
Following his meeting with Wafd leaders, ElBaradei criticized security forces' use of violence against protesters in Tahrir Square Tuesday and Wednesday. He called for the prosecution of those who fueled the clashes and said some people are trying to sabotage the revolution.
ElBaradei said he met two weeks ago with Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and asked him to draft a new constitution before holding parliamentary elections, joining a host of opposition leaders who have issued similar calls.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
