With over 300 hours of debate and discussions – sometimes heated – for each article in Egypt’s new national charter, the document represents many firsts for the country, such as: the first after the January 25 revolution and the first to actually engage the public in the process of drawing up the charter. The Muslim Brotherhood has congratulated Egyptian people on the Constituent Assembly (CA)’s completion of its work on the draft constitution with a final vote that revealed unanimous agreement. Now the country’s most important document is ready for submission to President Mohamed Morsi to put it up for endorsement by public referendum.
In a statement on November 30, the Brotherhood said: “The completion of this historic step represents a significant leap for Egypt and its people. This is the first time where the people write their own constitution with their own free will, after thousands of hours of public consultations. It also incorporates values, principles and basic rules for the first time in the history of Egyptian charters”. The Brotherhood statement also stressed that “The draft constitution is one of the most important fruits of the glorious January 25 revolution, watered with the pure blood and sacrifices of our honourable martyrs and the wounded. We pray to God that this draft document will be a blessed building block in the construction of modern free and prosperous Egypt”.