Pharaoh Reloaded?
Egypt’s draft constitution proposes a semi-presidential system that risks creating an extremely powerful executive branch.
The Constituent Assembly of Egypt, after a tortuous process, released its first complete draft of the new constitution on 14 October. The chapters on the system of government have drawn the attention of analysts eager to assess the level of power the presidency would retain. At first glance, the draft establishes a system that has been described by assembly members and legal scholars as semi-presidential. This, however, is a misrepresentation: the semi-presidential system can create an extremely powerful president if the role of the prime minister is weak or ill-defined, and if the president is afforded broad powers. This is the case of Egypt’s draft constitution.
This article was written for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The complete version can be found here.
Photo: Ed Giles /Getty Images
