This article was originally published in Al Masry Al Youm.
These days, one of the most important questions for Egypt’s transition is apparently being settled between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the political parties: how exactly should parliament elect the constituent assembly that will draft new constitution? The importance of the issue cannot be overstated. The constituent assembly will be tasked with re-designing the Egyptian state to respond to demands for democracy. If successful, the assembly will lay the foundations for a new Egypt, the same way that South Africa’s constitution-making process hailed a new dawn for the country. The constituent assembly will be the real prize of the parliamentary elections that are scheduled to begin at the end of November. Yet until now, it has not been clear precisely how parliament should elect the seminal body.
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