Maat Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Studies welcomes the amendment of Article 76 of the Constitution and calls for further reform - Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights

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MAAT center for the juridical and the constitutional studies supports the amendment of the article no., 76 of the constitution, demanding for much more Reforms

February 28, 2005

MAAT center for the juridical and the constitutional studies declaring its pleasure for what has been declared by Mr. president, MUBARAK about his demand from the both councils of the parliament to discuss the amendment of the article no., 76 of the constitution about the way of choosing the president of the republic to developed for the enquiry before the presidential elections that would be held at the next September

MAAT center for the juridical and the constitutional studies expressing its pleasure for this positive step towards the constitutional reform at Egypt, assure that’s revealing the real and the true(serious) will for the political leadership at achieving and accomplishing the reform as it assures at the meantime the necessity to be accompanied this step with political and legislative procedures as a must towards the political reform the most important of them:

- to cancel and to delete the situation of emergency and to release the political detained individuals and pardoning the political prisoners except those who committed violence and to return back to the trials and to justice those who were condemned by the military courts to be returned back their trials in front of the normal justice and to cancel and delete the laws and the articles of laws that stand against the general(public) freedoms and the human rights and to put a final end for the strategies and the policies of torturing and committing violence and the arrests and the detentions and to question and to put the responsibility over those who commit any kind or even a single crime of them.

- To make them available, the guarantors and the assurances for the free and the clear(clean) elections forming an independent, sustainable judicial committee to supervise and to manage the elections and to organize the registrations of the lists of the elections to be in accordance(matches)to the civil registrations records.

- Amending the law of the political parties no., 40 for the year of 1977 that lead to set free the formation of the political parties under the supervision of the normal justice only and that the participation and joining the political parties must be sat free and that joining them must be available for the whole of the Egyptians citizens without differences because of the race, sex, color and the religions. and to be committed and obliged by the restrictions of the democratic process and to put an end for the political and the legal restrictions that are imposed on the political parties and to put an end for the restrictions that are imposed on the peaceful public activities including the right to demonstrate and strike and to still and to stay inside the places and buildings and for holding meetings and conferences and for distributing statements.

- Assuring and guaranteeing the independence of the professional and the labors syndicates and the none governmental and the civil society organizations to accomplish and achieve a popular and a national society capable and able to contribute and participate to accomplish and achieve the democracy and the development and the progress and to cancel and delete the law no., 100 for 1993 for and about the professional syndicates.

- Release and make it available the freedom of and for issuing journals and holding(owning) the media institution and set free the media and the national press away from the control of the executive authority and the ruling party and make it available and implement the principles of equity and equality among the political parties and groups and the whole of the political and the democratic directions to express their opinions and thoughts at allover the public media till we reach the amendment of the law of the media T.V and Radio and achieving and accomplishing its independence away from the executive authorities.

- Assuring the public and the general authority for the judiciary(justice)to judge and review the whole cases and claims including the objections and the opposition(demands) about the legality of the memberships of the parliament members.

- Implementing the international charters and treaties about the human rights signing and crediting the declarations and the international charters that’s concerned and about the human rights and reviewing the reservations of Egypt upon the international charters that’s districting it's included rights.

Adherence to the principles of transparency, good governance, and accountability in all government practices at its various levels, starting with the central government and ending with local administrations. And immediate measures for administrative and financial reform, resistance to corruption and confronting the plunder of public funds.

- To be committed and obliged with the principles of clarity and the good governance and the responsibility at the whole of the governmental practices and policies at the whole levels from the start of the central government till we reach the end with the local administrations taking immediate procedures for the administrative and the financial reforming resisting against the corruption and the steels and the violations against the public fund.

- MAAT center for the juridical and the constitutional studies sees that, the organizational procedures for the registrations and the applications process proving the serious of the registrations and the applications for the position of the president of the republic throughout posing terms and conditions at the applicants to earn and obtain the support of the people of the elected representatives at the constitutional institutions and at the local popular councils that could turn to be objective restrictions under the controlling over and the authoritarian way (autocracy) of the national democrat party upon the elected councils so that, the organization demanding to considered and to be complied with the organizational procedures of the applications for the position of the president of the republic to not turn to be restrictions to prevent and to resist(to prohibit) the citizens from practicing their rights to compete(apply) for this position.

- Among and of these procedures also to assure that, the political parties would be able to and capable to choose and elect(select)some of their leaders to compete and apply for this position, as the organization sees that this exception for the political parties could represent a restriction against the independent competitors to have their opportunities to compete and to apply for the elections and about the suggestion to and for performing and holding the elections for the position of the president of the republic at only a sole day, the Egyptian organization is questioning, why to not be the elections held along more than a sole day to give and avail the opportunity for the full judicial supervision over the electoral constituencies.

- MAAT center for the juridical and the constitutional studies assures that, the suggested amendment for the article no., 76 of the constitution expresses the will of the political leadership to achieve and accomplish the reform at Egypt but it demands as a must and a necessity to hold a national discussion includes the whole of the political and the partial groups and forces, also the civil society organizations, the great thinkers, the activists and the politicians for the constitutional reforms including the different and the several aspects, of the political and the economic aspects that because this constitutional reform must be fully completed and mustn't be partial the most important of these amendments are:

- Amending the duration of the position of the president of the republic article no., 77 of the constitution to become only 5 years instead of 6 years cant be extended except for only one duration, with the term and the condition that the president must abandon and freeze his political party property along the duration of his occupation as a president of the republic.
- That’s must be clearly included within the constitutional contexts that the must and the necessity of being there imposed a vice-president that’s must be elected with the president of the republic among more than a competitor. - Restricting the abilities and the capabilities that’s given to the president of the republic according to the sustainable constitution that’s applicable nowadays at Egypt that’s concentrating and collecting the whole of the authorities and the capabilities allover the state in the both hands of the president of the republic that’s according to 55 of articles of the constitution including authorities and capabilities that’s the president of the republic has 35 of the authorities and the capabilities its proportion 63% of the total capabilities and the authorities whereas that’s were left for the legislative authority and its parliament of the both councils(the council of the people and the council of the consultants) of 14 of the capabilities and the authorities so that, there is a must and a necessity to reform the authority in Egypt and to implement the principle of the balance and the separation among the3of the authorities with a relative control for the legislative authority over the executive authority to watch and supervise its performance and to question it.

- Activating the supervising and the legislative role of (for)the legislature:
- Promoting the decentralization at the rule(governing) giving wide authorities and capabilities for the local authorities and institutions allover the governorates of the republic to reach a good governance and working on promoting and developing(supporting)the public participation at the decision making process.
- The must and the necessity to cancel and delete the context of the 1st article of the constitution that says: the Arab republic of Egypt, a state, its system is social democrat bases on the unity of the public workers. That’s to be replaced by a new context that’s must refer to that: the Arab republic of Egypt a state its system bases on the democracy bases on the political multifarious that the law organizes(determines) its rules.