Egypt now must rewrite constitution, elect leaders

Would the country have to go back to its much-discredited parliament to help organize elections and rewrite the antiterrorism laws? What about the fact that the constitution requires new elections in 60 days if the president steps down - surely that's too soon for a country with no mature opposition parties?

By the third week of the uprising, most of the protest leaders in Tahrir Square had arrived at an answer. This was no longer an uprising, they said. It was a revolution. Dump the constitution.

Although the new military high command that is now ruling Egypt did not specifically say it was annulling the constitution, it appeared to be conveniently ignoring it, and analysts said Egypt under the best circumstances faces a fraught process of appointing an interim administrative council or Cabinet, drafting a new constitution or amending the old one, nurturing political parties and, finally, electing a new president and possibly a parliament too.

The crucial questions over the next few days, analysts said, is whether army commanders allow the political opposition to take an active role in the new nation-building, how quickly new elections can be held, and whether the council will guide the development of a new government that is fundamentally civilian in character.

"We're operating outside the rules right now, so to ask what the procedures are is kind of hard," said Nathan Brown, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University. One of the country's leading opposition figures, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, said preparing the way for truly free and fair elections could take up to a year. But many here worry about leaving the army in charge for too long and say every attempt should be made to meet the 60-day deadline for new presidential elections as outlined in the constitution.

"We must give them limited time. The new elections must take no more than 60 days, four months maximum. We need the urgent case," said Mohamed Fouad Gadalla, vice president of the Egyptian state council, a network of administrative courts. Gadalla said only about 20 articles of the constitution need rewriting. They could be quickly drafted and submitted to a public referendum, with a Cabinet of nonpartisan "technocrats" running the country in the interim, he said.

ElBaradei, however, told CNN he favors a presidential council made up of one military representative and two civilians to rule in the interim.

"A period of a year. I think that's what we need at least to help get started, established. Get people to get engaged. Build an institution. We have to start from scratch," he said.

This article appeared on page A - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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