Freedom and Justice Party leader and MP Mohamed al-Beltagy announced that he rejects drafting the new constitution under the military rule and called on all forces to rally on Friday in Tahrir Square to confront the remnants of Mubarak's regime and the military council.
He wrote on his Facebook account, commenting on the circulated statement of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi that the constitution should be drafted before the presidential elections, "How could we form the Constituent Assembly and draft the constitution in one month?"
"The Constituent Assembly should be re-formed and start its work without linking [finishing a draft of the constitution] and the presidential election," he said.
Beltagy totally rejected the idea of postponing the presidential election, stressing the need to end the transition phase and transfer power to civilians as scheduled on 30 June.
He added the military council should transfer its full powers to state institutions, including the Parliament, cabinet and the president. He rejected "any kind of trusteeship from the military over the Constituent Assembly, whether during its formation or its work."
Beltagy refused keeping the military institution away from constitutional control, pointing to the need to start a "serious, transparent national dialogue between the civil forces on one side and the military junta on the other, on details related to the current and future situation."
This article is an edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
