Egypt assembly rushes to vote on constitution

Judge Hossam El-Gheriany, chairman of the constituent assembly, looks on as members of Egypt's constituent assembly discuss of the last voting session on a new draft constitution at the Shoura Assembly on November 29, 2012 in Cairo. / GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images

Updated 6:27 PM ET

CAIRO Islamists on Thursday rushed to approve a draft constitution for Egypt without the participation of liberal and Christian members, aiming to pre-empt a court ruling that could dissolve their panel and further inflaming the clash between the opposition and President Mohammed Morsi.

The draft of the charter, meant to determine a new political identity for Egypt after 60 years of rule by authoritarian leaders, has an Islamist bent that rights experts say could lead to a say by Muslim clerics in legislation and restrictions on freedom of speech, women's rights and other liberties.

The lack of inclusion was obvious in Thursday's session of the assembly that has been writing the document for months. Of the 85 members in attendance, there was not a single Christian and only four women, all Islamists. Many of the men wore beards, the hallmark of Muslim conservatives. For weeks, liberal, secular and Christian members, already a minority on the 100-member panel, have been pulling out to protest what they call the Islamists' hijacking of the process.

Voting had not been expected for another two months. But the assembly, overwhelmingly made up of Morsi's allies, abruptly moved it up in order to pass the draft before Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court rules on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel.

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Morsi is expected to call for a referendum on the draft as early as mid-December.

"I am saddened to see this come out while Egypt is so divided," Egypt's top reform leader, Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei said, speaking on private Al-Nahar TV. But he predicted the document would not last long. "It will be part of political folklore and will go to the garbage bin of history."

A new opposition bloc led by ElBaradei and other liberals said the assembly had lost its legitimacy.

"It is trying to impose a constitution monopolized by one trend and is the furthest from national consensus, produced in a farcical way," the National Salvation Front said in a statement, read by Waheed Abdel-Meguid, one of the assembly members who withdrew.

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Egypt's Morsi to explain power grab in national address

Thursday's vote escalates the already bruising confrontation sparked last week when Morsi gave himself near absolute powers by neutralizing the judiciary, the last branch of the state not in his hands. Morsi banned the courts from dissolving the constitutional assembly or the upper house of parliament and from reviewing his own decisions.

Speaking in an interview on state TV aired late Thursday, Morsi defended his edicts, saying they were a necessary "delicate surgery" needed to get Egypt through a transitional period and end instability he blamed on the lack of a constitution.

"The most important thing of this period is that we finish the constitution, so that we have a parliament under the constitution, elected properly, an independent judiciary, and a president who executes the law," Morsi said.

In a sign of the divisions, protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square who were watching the interview chanted against Morsi and raised their shoes in the air in contempt.

The president's edict sparked a powerful backlash in one of the worst bouts of turmoil since last year's ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. At least 200,000 people protested in Cairo's Tahrir square earlier this week demanding he rescind the edicts.

Street clashes have already erupted between the two camps the past week- and more violence is possible. At least 200,000 people protested in Cairo's Tahrir square earlier this week against Morsi's decrees.

The opposition plans another large protest for Friday, and the Brotherhood has called a similar massive rally for the following day, though they decided to move it from Tahrir, apparently to avoid frictions. Hundreds of opposition supporters have been camping out since Friday in Tahrir and bands of youths have been daily battling police on a road leading to the U.S. Embassy. CBS News producer Alex Ortiz reports the clashes forced the embassy to close and most of the staff has gone home, although people appeared to be fighting riot police rather than the embassy itself.

Morsi's edicts aimed at preventing the judiciary from disbanding the constitution-writing panel. He barred courts outright from doing so, then went further to bar judges from reviewing any of his own decisions. Confident the assembly was protected, he gave it until February to iron out the sharp differences over the draft.

But when the Constitutional Court defied his decree and said Wednesday that it would rule on the panel's legitimacy, the date of the vote was immediately moved up.

Islamist members of the panel defended the fast tracking. Hussein Ibrahim of the Brotherhood said the draft reflected thousands of hours of debate over the past six months, including input from liberals before they withdrew.

"People want the constitution because they want stability. Go to villages, to poorer areas, people want stability," he said.

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[Tabatha911]

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ARE DANGEROUS!

Sharia Law will terrorise Muslim & Christian alike. It will affect the whole nation. So Wake Up, before it is too late.

Do not listen or follow Salafi Religious Clerics, who are deceiving Egyptians..........

Sharia Law is not the Answer.

Religion must be separated from Politics

[tb91006]

Sounds like they learned well from Obama and the liberals who put him in office.

[askagain]

That is what I was thinking, too. Sounds like Obamacare. It only passed because the Democrats controlled the Presidency, the Senate, and the house of Representatives. Everything was just right for a perfect storm.

[harold_lloyd]

I had high hopes for Egypt, but it's early in the game and there is still a chance that it could turn out well.

On a side note...Dear YESITSTRUE, The election is over and I guess your side did not prevail. Are you going to spend the rest of the next four years acting like a spoiled child, or will you accept reality and pitch in to help a little?

[Jesus_to_ground_control]

Women of Egypt Awake!

Religions shouldn't dictate to us the difference between a man and woman.

The women of Egypt must be part of the constitution, they just have to!

[Jandman]

The Egyptian courts are controlled by Mubarak appointees who are now attempting to suborn the results of free elections and have admitted their intention to assist the generals (the Egyptian 2%) toward that end. The courts earlier tried to disband the elected congress and now are attempting to dismiss the constitutional assembly. Morsi has been forced to react to this attempted judicial coup.

[askagain]

That is what dictators do.

[Jandman]

The Egyptian courts are controlled by Mubarak appointees who are now attempting to suborn the results of free elections and have admitted their intention to assist the generals (the Egyptian 2%) toward that end. The courts earlier tried to disband the elected congress and now are attempting to dismiss the constitutional assembly. Morsi has been forced to react to this attempted judicial coup.

[herewegoagain45]

How could anyone possibly not blame Morsi. The man specifically went out of his way to usurp power. He did not do the rational political action and condemn the actions of the courts, no , he decided that he should have the ability to determine what people in Egypt read. But its the courts fault, oh yeah sure.

[herewegoagain45]

Hate to say it but we told you so. People were caught up last year in the fervor of the moment and made irrational decisions. They needed to establish a constitution prior to changing the government. This would have ensured that power grabs like Morsi's wouldst have happened. The people of Egypt must live with their decision and accept that from now on they will have a new Muslim Brotherhood dictator who abides by Sharia Law. WE TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN (even though the MB promised it wouldn't) Good luck to all you Egyptians soon to be violently oppressed.

[ajmg111]

Sounds just like Nancy Pelosi. You have to pass the bill if you want to read it. Egypt is taking lessons from the Obama administration.

[TomMariner]

This will be the first Caliphate since 1924 (An Islamic State based on Sharia Law). Thanks, in part, to our "enlightened" foreign policy and our "apology tour" in 2009, we have the first government in almost 90 years to be based on Sharia law. Forget about the fact that the religious clerics, who believe any sacrifice on earth to support their religion is blessed, the utter disaster for their poor citizens is nothing to be proud of.

Turkey is the previous last country to throw off the chains of religious control of the government.

Now that's deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize before the first action is taken by a new President. Its a good thing a friendly neighbor state isn't close to developing a nuclear weapon to send unbelievers to heaven in large numbers.