Egypt’s SCAF to meet parties Thursday

Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is scheduled to meet again with political parties to discuss the disputed make-up of the committee tasked with drafting the nation's new constitution. Party heads who attended the previous meeting on Tuesday were to discuss the different recommendations within their parties. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and Chief of Staff Samy Anan met with 19 political leaders. The meeting included the head of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Mohamed Morsi; Free Egyptians Party leader Ahmed Saeed; head of the Justice Party MP Mostafa El Naggar; liberal al-Wafd leader Al Sayed Al Badawy, and head of the Reform and Development Party MP Mohamed Anwar Sadat. Other political parties attending were the Salafist al-Nour, Building and Development, al-Wasat, al-Karama, The Union, Egyptian Citizen, Tagammu, Civilization, Democratic Peace and the Egyptian Arab Union. Tantawi told the politicians that the country faced numerous challenges, saying it was essential not to be distracted by smaller issues. The main goal “is getting the country to safe shores". Sixteen members of the constituent panel elected to draft Egypt’s new constitution earlier declared their withdrawal from the Islamist-dominated body, in which members of the Muslim Brotherhood's FJP and Al-Nour garnered around 75 per cent of the 50 per cent allocated to lawmakers (38 members) while dominating about 40 per cent (20 members) of the other half of the assembly. A total of 58 members, almost 60 per cent of the assembly, were directly affiliated with Islamists. In its first meeting on Wednesday, only 72 out of 100 members were present to vote for a president. FJP member and People’s Assembly’s Speaker Saad El-Katatny was elected head of the Assembly.