Egyptian Constituent Assembly of 2012
This article needs to be updated.(November 2012) |
Constituent Assembly of 2012 الجمعية التأسيسية al-Jamaaeya at-Ta’sīsīya | |
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Type | |
Type | Unicameral |
History | |
Founded | 26 March 2012 |
Seats | 100 |
Elections | |
Last election | 26 March 2012 |
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Post-coup unrest in Egypt (2013–2014)
Supporters Opponents Family
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The Egyptian Constituent Assembly of 2012 (CA) is the committee for the creation of a new
In a 31 March to 4 April opinion poll
First Constituent Assembly
Egypt's first Constituent Assembly, elected by the Islamist-led parliament, was criticized by many observers due to the preponderance of Islamist members (66 out of 100) it contained: 38 out of the 50 parliamentary members of the constituent assembly were members of the
Out of its 100 elected members, only 75 attend the assembly. Many of the liberal, leftist and social democratic parties like the
The first Constituent Assembly was then dissolved when a court rendered it unconstitutional in April 2012. The Supreme Administrative Court had dissolved it in April for including members of parliament in its membership. The court said that according to the March 2011 Constitutional Decree, MPs were responsible for electing the Constituent Assembly, but could not elect themselves.[10] On 10 April, Cairo's administrative court suspended the assembly, judging that the assembly was "unrepresentative" for involving too few women, young people and minority representatives. Liberals and secularists had filed a suit out of fear the constitutional panel could implement a strong role for Islamic religious law in the new constitution.[11]
Second Constituent Assembly
An agreement to form a more balanced assembly was reached on 7 June 2012. 39 seats would be filled by Members of Parliament, six by judges, nine by law experts, one each by a member of the armed forces, the police and the justice ministry, 13 seats by unions, and 21 by public figures. Five seats would be filled by the Al-Azhar University, one of Sunni Islam's most important institutions, and four by the Coptic Orthodox Church.[12] A satisfactory deal was thus reached between Islamist and non-Islamist parties over the membership ratio, but the non-Islamist figures accused their Islamist counterparts of breaking the deal and attempting to secure a voting majority of Islamists once again in the assembly.[10]
MPs then elected a second Assembly, but this one also included parliamentarians, which is why the Assembly faces another court case. The Constituent Assembly however has been given a second chance after the Supreme Administrative Court postponed on 26 June 2012 a decision on dissolving it to 4 September. It can conceivably now finish drafting the constitution before that date rendering a dissolution ruling moot.[13]
However, as per the supplementary constitutional decree released in June 2012 by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces,[14] the Constituent Assembly still faces difficulty. The decree gives several parties, including the head of SCAF, the right to veto any clause the assembly drafts if it conflicts with the "goals of the revolution" or constitutional principles from Egypt's previous constitutions. If the assembly overturns the veto, the issue is referred to the Supreme Constitutional Court for deliberation. If the assembly does not finish drafting the constitution in time for the court date and is dissolved, then according to article 60 B of the decree, SCAF gets to appoint another assembly.[13]
According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a lawsuit has been filed against the second assembly on the grounds that members of the parliament voted some of their own members into the body. Nathan J. Brown of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace noted: "Although that might sound normal and innocuous, the first assembly was disbanded on the basis of a similar argument."[15]
A ruling on the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by the Administrative Court in Cairo was postponed until 9 October 2012 to allow the judges to look into documents regarding the case.[16] The hearing was adjourned until 16 October.[17] The Cairo Administrative Court would give its verdict on the legality of the Constituent Assembly on 23 October.[18] The Supreme Administrative Court referred the lawsuit to the High Constitutional Court. This might give the Constituent Assembly enough time to finish drafting the constitution.[19] Mohamed Morsi's constitutional declaration issued in November 2012 bars the Constituent Assembly from being dissolved by the judiciary.[20]
Boycott
A number of parties have embraced
A number of activists, public figures and politicians announced during a press conference on Wednesday 3 October 2012 that they do not recognize the constitution as it is currently being written by the Constituent Assembly and instead seek to draft a constitution that is built upon popular consensus.[22] The name of the group is the Egyptian Constitutional Front.[23]
Withdrawals
The constituent assembly had a number of groups and individuals withdrawing from it as of November 2012.
Numerous church representatives withdrew from the Constituent Assembly on 17 November 2012.
The Journalists Syndicate Council and the representative of Farmers Syndicate, Mohamed Abdel-Qader, withdrew on Tuesday, 20 November 2012.[30]
The number of withdrawals from the Constituent Assembly would have made it impossible for there to be the quorum necessary to send the constitution to a popular vote, as required by the rules of the Constituent Assembly.[31] The Constituent Assembly has 85 members voting on the constitution, with 11 liberal members replaced with alternates.[32] Thus, there were enough members to achieve the required 67 votes for passage.[32]
The remaining members of the assembly said they would resume their work.[33] It was reported that there were at least 40 withdrawals overall from the Constituent Assembly.[34]
Party standings
The party standings as of the election and as of April 24, 2024 were as follows:
Affiliation | Members | ||
---|---|---|---|
2012 Election Results |
As of 9 June 2012 | ||
Freedom and Justice Party | 16 | ||
Al-Nour Party | 8 | ||
New Wafd Party |
5 | ||
Egyptian Social Democratic Party | 2 | ||
Free Egyptians Party | 2 | ||
Building and Development Party | 1 | ||
Al-Wasat Party | 1 | ||
Reform and Development Misruna Party |
1 | ||
Socialist Popular Alliance Party | 1 | ||
Dignity Party | 1 | ||
Independents | 61 | ||
Total members | 100 | ||
vacant | 0 | ||
Total seats | 100 |
References
- ^ Murphy, Dan (28 November 2012). "Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood sets constitution showdown for tomorrow". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ El Deeb, Sarah (28 November 2012). "Egypt judges strike to protest president's decrees". Associated Press. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ "Egypt Constitutional Court postpones all sessions indefinitely". Ahram Online. 2 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ^ Hendawi, Hamza; Michael, Maggie (29 November 2012). "Egypt Islamists hurriedly approve new constitution". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Opinion poll on presidential candidates shows Moussa on top". Egypt News English. 9 April 2012. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Constitution court refers Shura Council case to state commissioners' board". Ahram Online. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- ^ "Egypt court rejects lawsuits against Constituent Assembly". Ahram Online. 3 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ "Court rejects lawsuits against formation of Constituent Assembly". Daily News Egypt. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ "Egypt court rules against Shura Council, Constituent Assembly". Ahram Online. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ^ a b Nada Hussein Rashwan (27 June 2012). "Egypt's constituent assembly convenes Tuesday with future still in doubt". Ahram Online. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Egypt court suspends constitutional assembly". BBC News Middle East. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Egypt parties end deadlock over constitutional panel". BBC News Middle East. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ a b Ahmed Aboul Enein (28 June 2012). "Constituent Assembly carries on". Daily News Egypt. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "English text of SCAF amended Egypt Constitutional Declaration". Ahram Online. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ Brown, Nathan J. (19 June 2012). "The Egyptian Political System in Disarray". Carnegie Endowment for international Peace. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Constituent Assembly's fate adjourned to 9 October". Ahram Online. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Lawsuit against Constituent Assembly adjourned". Egypt Independent. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ "Fate of Egypt's constitution-drafting assembly to be decided on 23 October". Ahram Online. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ "Administrative court non-decision gives Islamists ample time to finish constitution". Ahram Online. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ^ "Politicians divided on Morsy's new constitutional declaration". Egypt Independent. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Political forces sign on ElBaradei call for Constituent Assembly boycott". Ahram Online. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ "Constituent Assembly opponents to draft alternative constitution". Egypt Independent. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
- ^ "New Egyptian Constitutional Front seeks signatures for petition". Ahram Online. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Egyptian churches withdraw from Constituent Assembly". Egypt Independent. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "Egypt's New Coptic Pope Enthroned in President Morsi's Absence". 19 November 2012.
- ^ "Liberal Wafd Party quits Egypt's constitution-drafting body". Ahram Online. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "Revolutionary youth group leader quits Constituent Assembly". Ahram Online. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "The constitution-drafting assembly faces fatal threats". Ahram Online. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "Secular figures withdraw from Constituent Assembly, call draft Egypt's 'downfall'". Egypt Independent. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "Journalists, farmers syndicates withdraw from Egypt's Constituent Assembly". Ahram Online. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "The constitution-drafting assembly faces fatal threats". Ahram Online. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Beleaguered Constituent Assembly votes on Egypt's draft constitution". Ahram Online. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- ^ "Some constitution writers reject non-Islamists' withdrawal claims". Ahram Online. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "Army articles approved by Constituent Assembly". Ahram Online. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.