Egyptian court suspends constitution makers
Political groups complain that bureaucratic maneuvering gave Islamist factions a majority on drafting panel
CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has suspended a 100-member panel selected by lawmakers from the Islamist-dominated parliament and tasked with drafting a new constitution.
Tuesday’s ruling followed complaints by political groups and constitutional experts over the parliament’s decision to give lawmakers half the seats on the panel. Islamist lawmakers, combined with like-minded individuals, ended up with 60 seats on the panel.
The experts said this violates a constitutional declaration adopted in a referendum last year. Some two dozen members have quit the panel, protesting the selection process.
The ruling is a blow to Islamists. Their insistence that lawmakers get half the panel prompted charges that they wanted to monopolize the process and give the new constitution an Islamist slant.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
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