Egyptian assembly rushes to vote on new constitution

After calling off protests earlier this week, Morsi’s Islamist supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist Nour party have called for their own demonstrations Saturday.

Liberals, Islamists spar

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Demonstrations in Cairo: Protests continue in and around Tahrir Square against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s declaration giving him nearly absolute power above judicial review.

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Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will speak to the people of Egypt Thursday to explain why he granted himself almost absolute power.

Much like Egypt is at the moment, the new charter is a fairly vague jumble of old and new, the secular and the Islamist, a sometimes contradictory set of ideas that remain open to interpretation and seems to completely satisfy no one.

Compromises between the authoritarian Egypt of Mubarak, the revolutionary Egypt that ousted him and the newly elected Islamist government that replaced him are sprinkled throughout. Article 43, for instance, guarantees freedom of expression, while Article 44 forbids insulting any prophets. Article 50 preserves the right to assembly but requires “notification” of such gatherings. The ­constitution imposes presidential term limits, marking a clear shift away from the era of Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years. But other checks on presidential power remain ill-defined.

As the voting began Thursday, liberal activists began blogging and tweeting their objections and political Islamists their retorts, reflecting the deepening polarization of Egypt’s political classes.

“This constitution that is being written a few steps away from tear gas and bullets and under the protection of the interior ministry and the legitimacy of the Brotherhood and dictatorial immunity does not and will not represent me,” wrote Rasha Azb, a prominent activist.

Neder Bakar, a spokesman for the Nour party who is a member of the constitution-writing assembly, said the new constitution represents solid progress compared with the Mubarak days.

“This constitution has diminished the authorities of the president to a bare minimum,” he said. “The issues related to human rights in this constitution cannot be compared to previous constitutions.”

Morsi vs. the judiciary

Morsi has been locked in a power struggle with the country’s Mubarak-era judiciary since the moment he was elected this summer, when the country’s highest court dissolved the democratically elected, Islamist-dominated parliament that backed him. That same court was expected to dissolve the constitution-writing assembly Sunday, when it was to hear cases stemming from the walkout of its liberal, secular and Christian members, prompting a rush for the body to complete its work.

Morsi’s supporters have cast his decree, which places nearly all his actions beyond judicial review, as a short-term measure needed to protect Egypt’s democratic transition from the judiciary. In the interview that aired Thursday, Morsi reiterated his position that his decree was temporary and that he would relinquish his new powers once Egypt has a new constitution in place.

But getting to that point will involve the judiciary that Morsi is flouting. Once the assembly approves the new constitution, it is supposed to be put to a popular referendum, a process that is overseen by courts that are currently on strike.

“So,” said Brown, the GWU scholar, “will they be able to fulfill the legal requirements of the referendum?”

In the interview, Morsi appeared confident, pointing his finger and shouting, “If someone tries to prolong the transitional phase, I will not permit them to do that!”

And if Egyptians vote down the new constitution, he said, “we will start all over again.”

Hassieb is a special correspondent.