Egypt in new crisis over constitution panel | WPN World People News

CAIRO A fresh crisis gripped Egypt as liberals walked out of a meeting to select members of a panel to draft the country's new constitution, accusing Islamists of trying to grab seats meant for secular parties.

The developments came even as Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt's ruling military council, directed both chambers of Parliament to hold a joint session on Tuesday to elect 100 members of the Constituent Assembly tasked with drawing up the country's next constitution.

The walkout came ahead of the presidential runoff election on June 16 and 17, and cast a shadow on the writing of the constitution which is to lay down the powers of the presidency.

Egypt has been rocked by turmoil ever since longtime autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year following people's uprising.

The liberals are upset over the Muslim Brotherhood and the ultraconservative Salafists grabbing most of the seats.

Legislator Emad Gad of the liberal Free Egyptians Party said the discussion was on division of seats between secular and Islamists in 50-50 ratio. "Then we were surprised to find that all 50 were just for the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis," said Gad.

He said the Brotherhood and Salafists wanted 50 of the 100 seats for their members and to push other Islamists into slots meant for secular parties and civil society.

The Brotherhood and Salafist Nour Party had together won 70 per cent of the seats in parliament.

Meanwhile, ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's health continued to sink and doctors used a defibrillator on him twice when they could not find a pulse.

Mubarak, 84, was slipping in and out of consciousness and being fed liquids intravenously.

He is in the intensive care ward of Torah prison hospital south of Cairo since he was convicted and sentenced on June 2 for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during the uprising last year.

Source: The Africa News.Net