Egyptian Constitution should not be left entirely in Parliament's hands: Moussa

Cairo, Nov 19(ANI): Former Egyptian Foreign Minister and presidential contender Amr Moussa has said formulating the Constitution should not be left entirely in the hands of the country's next parliament.

"I do favor a presidential system, I don't think the time is right for a parliamentary system now ... when the Egyptian landscape is not mature enough to produce a balanced political course of action. Therefore we need a strong president," he said.

His statement came in the wake of massive protest urging dislodging of military control over Egyptian affairs.

He added that Egypt's constitution could be amended after the next presidential tenure to allow parliament play a greater role.

He declined that the Parliament would form a committee to address the constitution issue.

"No they are not. They are going to appoint some of the members and the rest will be representatives of the syndicates, the unions, civil society and so forth," he said.

However it is unclear how an extra-parliamentary body and it is likely that lack of clarity, and accountability would enable the military to influence the process, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

The Brotherhood, other Islamist groups like the archconservative salafiyah (whose ranks carried posters today demanding that the Quran become Egypt's Constitution), and some secular democracy activists are incensed with the military's attempt to set preconditions on Egypt's future.

"To be honest, I largely agree with the Islamist position on the constitutional principles: they are unnecessary and pretty ridiculous, since the whole point of the coming elections is to elect a parliament that will, via the constituent assembly, write Egypt's next constitution," a prominent Middle East affairs' analyst Issandr El Amrani said.

"You can call anything you want binding but the legitimacy of an elected parliament trumps any agreement made behind closed doors", he added. (ANI)