Egypt’s Military Will Have Final Say On Country’s New Constitution

Egypt’s Military Will Have Final Say On Country’s New Constitution Scaf generals say they will have final approval over new political system, whatever the outcome of the election Jack Shenker 7 December 2011 Egypt’s ruling generals have put themselves on a collision course with the country’s new parliament after declaring that MPs will not have the final say over the drafting of a fresh constitution. The revelation is likely to escalate tensions once again between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) and an increasingly confident Muslim Brotherhood, which looks set to dominate the new assembly once voting is completed and parliament opens for business, in March. Millions of Egyptians have flocked to the polls in recent days to elect parliamentary representatives, whose primary role is to appoint a special body tasked with drawing up Egypt’s first post-Mubarak constitution. But after initial results indicated that political Islamists will form a majority in the new chamber, the military has moved swiftly to rein in their powers and ensure its own well entrenched political and economic privileges remain intact under any future civilian government. In a rare interview with foreign media, Major General Mokhtar el-Mulla – a leading member of Scaf – said the upcoming parliament would not be representative of all Egyptian people, and that those appointed to write a fresh constitution must also be approved by the interim cabinet and a newly-created “advisory council” of intellectuals, civilian politicians and media personalities, both of which fall under the control of Scaf. “This is the first stage in our democracy,” said Mulla, who also insisted that details of the army budget must remain shielded from democratic oversight, even after the generals return to their barracks. “In the future, parliament may have the ability to do whatever it likes. (Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk …