CAIRO, Dec. 14 (PNA/Xinhua) — Egypt will hold a referendum on the new draft constitution nationwide on January 14-15, official news agency MENA reported on Saturday.
“I call upon you to vote in a referendum on the draft constitution on January 14 and 15,” interim President Adly Mansour said in a televised speech in the presence of Amr Moussa, the head of the 50-member panel that drafted the new charter, and several high-ranking officials.
The new constitution is the most important step in a transition roadmap drawn up by the army after the ouster of Islamist ousted president Mohamed Morsi on July 3 and should be completed with parliamentary and presidential elections next year.
A 50-member assembly finalized the document and handed it to interim President Adly Mansour on December 3.
The draft allows the authorities to switch the order of elections expected next year as the roadmap required parliamentary elections to be held first, but the new constitution would allow a presidential election first.
The document is the conclusion of the efforts of the professional lawmen and legal experts, Mansour said in his speech.
“The new draft constitution is the fruits of long constitutional operation in Egypt since 1920s,” the interim president said, adding that the new text considered all new world documents with regards to freedoms, human rights and balance and separation among authorities.
There is no way for going back and the future roadmap for this nation will go on and Egypt is keen to implement law, restore the state’s prestige, and respond to the people’s demands, he added. (PNA/Xinhua)