Egypt draft constitution limits presidential terms

The issue was the subject of a long dispute between hardline Salafi Islamists and liberals in the assembly which will vote on each of 234 articles in the draft constitution before it is sent to President Mohamed Morsi for approval.   

After that, Morsi must put it to a popular referendum.

This as, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is expected to address the nation, calling for unity as he pushes through the new constitution he hopes will defuse a crisis prompted by his decision to grant himself sweeping powers.   

But as Morsi's opponents pressed on with their week-old protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, critics said the Islamist-dominated assembly's bid to finish the constitution quickly could make matters worse.   

Two people have been killed and hundreds injured in countrywide protests set off by Morsi's decree since it was issued last week.   

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group which was behind Morsi's election in June, hopes to end the crisis by replacing the decree with an entirely new constitution to be approved in a popular referendum, a Brotherhood official told Reuters.   

It is a gamble based on the Islamists' belief that they can mobilize enough voters to win the referendum. They have won all elections held since Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power.   

But the move seemed likely to deepen divisions that are being exposed in the street.   

In his speech, Morsi was expected to explain why he had issued his decree and to outline what he saw as conspiracies being planned by his non-Islamist political opponents, officials said. He would also call for national unity.   

In an interview with Time, Morsi said the majority supported his decree. But he added: "If we had a constitution, then all of what I have said or done last week will stop."

The Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies have called for protests on Saturday in Tahrir Square, setting the stage for more confrontation with their opponents, who staged a mass rally there on Tuesday.   

The constitution is one of the main reasons Morsi is at loggerheads with non-Islamist opponents. They are boycotting the 100-member constitutional assembly, saying the Islamists have tried to impose their vision for Egypt's future.   

The assembly's legitimacy has been called into question by a series of court cases demanding its dissolution. Its standing has also been hit by the withdrawal of members including church representatives and liberals.   

But shortly after the assembly ended its last session, state TV reported that some of the 14 members who had walked out to protest the Islamist dominated makeup of the panel, now returned to it to take part in the vote. It did not state how many.   

One of the articles to be voted on prevents leading figures of Mubarak's now banned National Democratic Party from running for office or entering any elections, parliamentary or otherwise, for at least 10 years.  


REUTERS