Panel completes amending Egypt's constitution

On Monday, members of the panel met in a televised session in which they lavished praise on the document and pledged to do more to help Egypt through its bumpy transition to democracy.

“It is now the right of every Egyptian to declare that this is their constitution,” said Anba Paula, the representative of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the panel.


Another member, veteran lawyer and head of the Bar Association Sameh Ashour said: “This constitution may not reflect the expectations of all Egyptians, but it is a safety valve for the revolution at this transitional phase.”

The panel will now submit the draft to the interim president, Adly Mansour, who is to announce a date for the referendum.

The panel is dominated by secular-leaning figures.

But it includes several Islamists, including one from an ultraconservative party, and representatives from Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's foremost seat of learning, and Christian churches.

Mohammed Ibrahim Mansour, representative of the ultraconservative Nour party, said the document struck a good balance between the teachings of Islam and civil freedoms.

Activists from Tamarod, a youth movement that rallied millions of Egyptians demanding that Morsi step down ahead of the July coup, also sat on the panel, which held its final deliberations in private but the voting on Saturday and Sunday was televised live.

Mahmoud Badr of Tamarod said his movement will return to the streets to rally a “yes” vote on the new charter.