Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Khairat el-Shater talks to reporters during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt Monday, April 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Khairat el-Shater talks to reporters during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt Monday, April 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
In this March 29, 2012 photo, presidential hopeful Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader who was expelled from the movement after he announced his decision to join the Presidential race, talks to reporters in front of the Higher Presidential Elections Commission in Cairo, Egypt. The presidential election scheduled in May will mark the beginning of a handover of power by the ruling military to an elected civilian, following last year's popular uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Supporters of former Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman kiss a t-shirt with his picture during a rally in front of the Higher Presidential Elections Commission, in Cairo, Sunday, April 8, 2012. A former strongman of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's regime has announced his presidential candidacy, shaking up an already heated race that is emerging as a contest between two longtime rivals _ former regime officials and Islamists who have surged in influence. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Supporters of Egyptian presidential hopeful candidate Khaled Ali carry posters with his picture and chant slogans after he submitted his candidacy papers during the last day of registration at the Higher Presidential Elections Commission,in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, April 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
CAIRO (AP) ? An Egyptian court on Tuesday suspended a 100-member panel selected by lawmakers from the Islamist-dominated parliament and tasked with drafting the country's new constitution.
The ruling was a blow to the Islamists, who have catapulted into the center of Egypt's political stage since the ouster 14 months ago of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.
It followed complaints by political groups, secular politicians and constitutional experts over parliament's decision to give lawmakers half the seats on the panel. Islamist lawmakers, combined with like-minded individuals selected from outside parliament, ended up with 60 seats on the panel.
The verdict also referred the case to a panel of senior judges to look into the legality of the panel.
Critics have maintained that the way the panel was picked violated a constitutional declaration adopted in a referendum last year. Some two dozen members ? many of them members of liberal groups that engineered the popular, anti-Mubarak uprising ? have quit the panel, protesting the selection process and alleging that it was not inclusive enough.
The Islamists' insistence that lawmakers get half the panel's seats prompted charges that they wanted to monopolize the process and give the new constitution an Islamist slant.
Ensuring their majority on the panel was one of a series of actions taken by the Islamists in their bid to tighten their control of the country.
Last week, the Muslim Brotherhood, the nation's largest political group, reversed an earlier decision not to field a candidate in presidential elections due on May 23-24. In a surprise move, the group put forward businessman Khairat el-Shater, the Brotherhood's deputy leader, as their choice for the presidency.
The Brotherhood's actions have led many to believe that the group, emerging from some 60 years on the sidelines as an outlawed organization under Mubarak, was more interested in dominating the country than in an inclusive transition that lays the foundation for a democratic and free Egypt.
Associated Presskansas city chiefs chiefs kc chiefs kc chiefs judy garland j r martinez j r martinez
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন