The Hindu : Front Page : Egypt's military suspends constitution, sets six-month time frame for elections

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Egypt's military suspends constitution, sets six-month time frame for elections

Atul Aneja

CAIRO: Charting a road map for a political transition that was short on detail, Egypt's new military rulers have suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament and set a six-month time frame for holding fresh parliamentary and presidential elections.

In doing so, the military has tightened its grip on the establishment, and announced unambiguously that it would be the custodian for steering the country's transition to democracy. It also appears to have met some of the opposition's key demands, which have been aired frequently during the course of the pro-democracy uprising, which began on January 25. The opposition has been calling for the dissolution of parliament, followed by fresh elections. Its demand for the dissolution of parliament was reinforced on account of the recent parliamentary elections, which have been widely acknowledged worldwide as rigged.

However, several pro-democracy figures, including Mohamed ElBaradei, former International Atomic Energy Chief, have also demanded abolishment of the existing constitution and its replacement by a fresh document that better reflects the country's democratic aspirations. But instead of calling for a new constitution, the military statement on Sunday said a committee was being appointed, which would amend the constitution, and then work out the rules to seek their approval directly through a popular referendum.

Analysts point out that the military, in its announcement on Sunday, fell short of meeting two other equally important opposition demands. First, the military communiqué has avoided any reference to the opposition's demand for formation of an interim government that should include opposition figures for steering the country's democratic transition. But, in its statement, the military said the caretaker Cabinet, which was appointed by the former President, Hosni Mubarak, in the wake of the pro-democracy protests, would be the one that would be in charge.

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