The Arab Republic of Egypt has witnessed a wide political movement during the period from January 25, 2011 until now, as a result of the popular uprising calling for political, economic and social reform and fighting corruption that has spread in recent years as a result of blocking the gates of change and the peaceful rotation of power, confusion between capital and power, and the absence of transparency and accountability mechanisms. The uprising also demanded the need to transform into a civil state and an institutionalized democratic system that protects public rights and freedoms and guarantees the peaceful transfer of power.
The most important and prominent demands were the demands related to radical amendments in the Egyptian constitution that guarantee the transformation into a democratic civil state and override the mistakes of the past. Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights believes that the requirements for this are its backbone of drafting a new constitution and not just changing five articles in the constitution and abolishing One as is now presented, and as scheduled for the constitutional amendments committee set up by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
We affirm that the new constitution, which must be promulgated, must guarantee the transition to a clear parliamentary system of government that places the powers in the hands of a government elected by the people and can be questioned before its representatives.
The transformation to the state model that we all seek and which the revolutionaries and demonstrators demanded requires reformulating a wide range of laws related to the right to participate, freedom of association, freedom of expression, anti-corruption, and enhancing transparency and the circulation of information. Therefore, what is now presented in terms of partial and limited amendments can only be accepted. In the context of being a transit through the transitional phase and the current constitutional deadlock, which must be clear in the minds of all parties.
With our complete surrender and firm position on the necessity of drafting a new constitution and new complementary laws once the leadership of the state is handed over to an elected civil authority, we present in this paper the vision of the Maat Foundation for the amendments that must be made to the five articles that the Constitutional Amendments Committee has settled on, namely Articles (76), (77) ), (88) (93) (189), in order to contribute to the public debate currently taking place and out of concern that the amendments do not come in a way that limits the ability of citizens to choose whoever will assume power from the Transitional Military Council.

Proposed foundations and formulations for constitutional amendments
The legislative basis upon which the amendment should be based
First: That the amendments do not conflict with the basic rights and freedoms stipulated in the constitution
So the amendment should not be a hindrance to a citizen's right to run for himself as long as he fulfills the conditions, and these conditions must be consistent with the public rights and freedoms stipulated in the constitution as is the case in Article (40) of the constitution which states that “Citizens are equal before the law, and they are They are equal in public rights and duties. There shall be no discrimination between them in this regard on the grounds of sex, origin, language, religion or creed.
Second: - That the amendments do not contradict the international instruments ratified by Egypt
This applies in particular to the amendment's compatibility with Article (25) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that every citizen, without any form of discrimination, has the following rights, which he must have the opportunity to enjoy without unreasonable restrictions: -
To participate in the management of public affairs, either directly or through freely chosen representatives.
To be elected and to be elected in fair elections that are held periodically by universal and equal suffrage and by secret ballot, which guarantees the free expression of voter management.
- To have access, on an equal basis with others, to public office in his country.
In the same context, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ratified by Egypt and which stipulates in its seventh article that states parties take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country must be respected in this regard, and in particular ensure women, On an equal basis with men, the right to:
Voting in all elections and general referendums, and eligibility for election for all bodies whose members are elected by universal suffrage.
Participating in the formulation of government policy, in implementing this policy, in occupying public jobs, and performing all public tasks at all levels of government.
Participation in any non-governmental organizations and associations interested in the public and political life of the country.
Third: Being guided by the legislation of civil countries that are similar in the political system
It is important when submitting amendments to constitutional texts governing the election of the president of the republic to be guided by the legislations of countries whose political system is described as presidential, or those whose political system is considered to be presidential in parliament, and in this regard we are guided by the American and French legislations regarding the conditions for accepting the nomination of the president of the republic.
1- Conditions for nomination to the post of President of the French Republic
The candidate must be a French citizen and be entitled to vote by holding the name of a voter, with his name on the electoral lists. He must be at least twenty-three years old, and he must be of good morals.
And every person who wants to run for the presidency of the republic must collect at least (500) signatures from authorized persons. Provided that these signatures are distributed over at least 30 provinces or overseas groups, and that the number of signatories in each region does not exceed one-tenth of the total number of elected members, and the persons authorized to sign are: any French representative, any member of the French Senate, Any mayor, any member of the French Council abroad, European representatives, elected members of the Council of Corsica or the Council of French Polynesian or of Congress or the councils of New Caledonia or the councils of Walls and Futuna, the regional advisors, the regional advisors of Mayotte and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, the Council of the Council of the City of Paris, President of French Polynesian or Head of Government of New Caledonia
The number of persons authorized to sign is approximately 45,000, including 30,000 mayors. This person is not entitled to sign more than one candidate, and he cannot give this candidate more than one signature only.
2- Conditions for nomination for the post of President of the United States of America
The American Constitution stipulates that no person other than a citizen by birth or whoever is a citizen of the United States at the time this constitution is approved shall be eligible for the office of President, and any person who has not reached the age of thirty-five years and has not been a resident of the United States for fourteen years shall not be eligible for that position. Therefore, the exclusive conditions for running for president in the United States are: -
Age (35 years at least).
He must be born in the United States or possessed its nationality at the time the constitution was approved.
Reside in the United States for 14 years.
The proposed wording of the constitutional articles to be amended
First: - Article 76
The President of the Republic shall be elected by direct universal secret ballot " . To accept the candidacy for the presidency, the applicant must be an Egyptian of Egyptian parents performing the national service and not deprived of his civil and political rights due to a crime involving dishonor, and the candidate for the nomination must obtain the signature of (25) thousand citizens registered in the electoral lists distributed in at least ten governorates, and the number of Signatures in every presidential election with the same percentage increase in enrollment in the electoral lists, and each of the political parties whose members obtained in the last elections (2%) 21 of the total seats elected in the People's Assembly and the Shura Council is entitled to present one of the presidential candidates, and no party or citizen has the right to present Or sign two candidates for the position in the same elections, and announce the election of the President of the Republic, with the candidate obtaining an absolute majority of the number of valid votes
Second: - Article (77)
The presidential term is five Gregorian years starting from the date of announcing the election results. The president may not be elected for more than two consecutive terms.
Third: Article (88)
It is a requirement for a member of the People's Assembly to be an Egyptian citizen registered in the electoral tables in the constituency in which he is nominated, and not deprived of his civil and political rights due to a crime involving dishonor, and an independent supreme judicial committee shall supervise and administer the entire electoral process. Its judges, four nominated by the General Assembly of the State Council from among its judges and two nominated by the President of the Supreme Constitutional Court from among his oldest deputies. The decision to appoint the committee is issued by the President of the Republic, provided that the committee is headed by one of the judges of the Court of Cassation determined by the General Assembly, and the committee’s decisions are issued by a majority of seven votes.
Fourth: Article (93)
The Speaker of the People’s Assembly must refer the appeals submitted to him within two weeks to the Court of Cassation, which has jurisdiction to investigate the validity of these appeals within ninety days from the date of their referral, and the Assembly is bound by the court’s decisions. The court’s decision is binding, and then membership is considered invalid for the member if the Court of Cassation decides to do so.
Article (189)
One-third of the members of the People's Assembly may request the amendment of one or more articles of the constitution, and if two-thirds of the members agree to the amendment, the matter shall be put to the popular referendum.
But if two-thirds of the members reject the proposed amendment or the people reject the proposed amendment in a referendum, it is not permissible to request the amendment of the same articles before one year has passed since this rejection