Proposed amendments to the Egyptian Constitution were revealed on Sunday after meeting the approval of Egypt’s Supreme Military Council, which has been charged with ruling the country since Egypt’s former president, Hosni Mubarak, stepped down after thirty years of rule on February 11.
The committee was given 10 days to draft changes to six articles of the constitution. The committee suggested amending eight articles, believing the additional two also necessary to move Egypt toward democracy. The amendments are intended to ease restrictions on presidential candidacy, limit the number and length of presidential terms, and allow full judicial oversight of elections, among other articles.
The committee assigned with forming the amendments is headed by Constitutional scholar Tarek el-Beshry and consists of a panel of seven other jurists. No women were selected to be part of the committee.
Article 75 was modified to guarantee that Egypt’s president is born to two Egyptians parents and cannot be married to a non-Egyptian. The old article did not include any conditions related to the president’s wife. The article also set 40 as the minimum age for the president of Egypt.
Article 76 was modified to ease restrictions on presidential nominations. The revised article outlines three ways a candidate can be eligible to run for president: the candidate should be endorsed by 30 members from the People`s Assembly or the Shura Council (the lower and upper houses of parliament); receive 30,000 signatures from Egyptians from 15 Governorates; or be a member of a party that holds at least one seat in Parliament.
The old article was more restricting and was seen as an obstruction by the former regime to guarantee its grip on power, as the candidate had to collect at least 250 signatures from the parliament and local councils or to be a member of a five-year-old party with at least 3 percent representation in parliament.
Mubarak`s regime controlled all local councils and parliament, making it nearly impossible for any candidate to contest Mubarak or any candidate put forward by the formerly ruling National Democratic Party.
Article 77 now limits the president to two terms in office, each lasting for four years. The original article did not set term limits and set the length of each term at six years. Under the old legislation, Mubarak was able to hold five 6-year terms as President of Egypt.
Article 88 was amended to allow full judicial oversight of elections during the entire electoral process, from voter lists until the announcement of results. A 2007 amendment to Article 88 abolished judicial supervision.
Article 89, pertaining to mechanisms to amend the constitution, was modified to ensure that the next elected parliament would form a 100-member elected commission to draft a new constitution within the first six months after its election.
Article 93 formerly gave the People’s Assembly the exclusive right to determine the validity of the parliamentary membership. It was amended so the Supreme Constitutional Court is the only arbitrator on contested memberships.
Article 139 was changed to obligate Egypt’s president to appoint a Vice President within the first two months of coming to power, and in case he is unable to perform his duties for any reason, a substitute must be appointed.
Despite the former constitution calling for a Vice President, Mubarak waited thirty years to appoint one, swearing in former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as Vice President only two weeks before Mubarak’s resignation on February 11.
Article 148, pertaining to the State of Emergency, was also changed. Formerly, the State of Emergency could be renewed by approval of the People’s Assembly. Under the amendment, if the president wants to apply the Emergency Law for more than six months, it must be approved by a public referendum.
Egypt has currently been under Emergency Law for thirty years.
The committee proposed the abolition of Article 179, which pertains to terrorism law.
Additionally, voters are now allowed to cast their votes with their National identity cards instead of needing a voting card.