The BA Discusses Constitutional Reforms in Egypt
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Alexandria—President Hosni Mubarak asked both the Shura Council and the People's Assembly to amend 34 articles in the constitution, which is a historical leap paving the way for democratic reform. In his speech before the two councils, HE President Mubarak stated the goals of the proposed amendments, among which is limiting the powers of the presidency and increasing the Parliament's surveillance over the government, including passing or rejecting a vote of no confidence without conducting polls.
In this context, the BA Dialogue Forum organized on Tuesday, 27 February 2007 a roundtable discussion on "Constitutional Reforms in Egypt". The discussion was chaired by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, and participated by a group of intellectuals and Egyptian politicians representing different political and social trends in Egypt. The discussion reflects the continuous efforts of the BA in spreading the awareness in the Egyptian society on the most important reform issues and sheds light on the role of the civil society in improving Egypt's conditions and its future.
At the onset of the discussion, Dr. Ismail Serageldin gave an address in which he stressed on 6 main factors, the backbone of any constitution in the world. First: the identity of the political system should be reflected in the Egyptian reality. Second: the constitution should state rights and duties that would ensure an effective protection of human rights. Third: Setting appropriate restrictions on the practice of power, whether through separating different powers or striking a balance among them. Fourth: ensuring the principle of the rule of the majority with due respect to the rights of minorities, especially status of women in Egypt and achieving political empowerment for women. Fifth: Appling the principle of the rule of law and institutionalism to ensure stability, political and economic welfare regardless of the person in power. Sixth: separating between religion and the state is rejecting the idea of setting an official religion for the state, and not rejecting the religious nature of a certain state to create an atmosphere of freedom with no discrimination based on religion among different people and sects.
Dr. Hossam Badrawy, Member of the General Secretariat of the National Party, Mouneer Fakhry Abd El-Nour, Secretary General of El-Wafd Party, Dr. Kadry Hefny, Professor of Psychology, Essam El-Islamboly, Lawyer, Dr. Mona Makram Obied, Professor of Political Sciences, AUC, Dr. Amr Ezzat Salama, Minister of Higher Education, Mr. Saad Hagras, Editor in Chief, the World Today, Dr. Yehia El-Gaml, Expert in Legislation, Dr. Mohamed Abdellah, Member of the General Secretariat of the National Party, and Mr. Said Yassin, Newspaper writer participated in the discussion.