I am saying “Yes” to the Amendments insh Allah and I know actually some people who read my blog will be shocked and will not believe themselves on how I would dare and Say “Yes”.
I am saying “Yes” while I am not a NDP or Salafi or MB or stupid enough to be fooled by some cheap media. I am saying “Yes” despite I refuse totally the use of religion to influence people’s vote. I am saying “Yes” and it is my right just like others have the right to say “No”.
You must know in our referendum the result whether “Yes” or “ No” will not be disastrous and will not end the revolution. According to General Mamdouh Shahin , the legal guru of the AFC these amendments if approved will be the core of a constitutional declaration that will put guidelines to our our political life till having a new constitution instead of constitution 1971. Of course in Al Masry Al Youm he later said that the president will rule by constitution without the presidential powers articles !! “We are speaking about 19 articles” Either ways the AFC said that there will be a constitutional declaration , the constitutional declaration is a substitute to the constitution.
The only difference between “Yes” and “No” is that in “Yes” we have our timeframe , we have a timetable for the political transition of power from the armed forces council to the civilian authorities represented in the parliament and the president. The parliament and president will be obliged by amended article no.189 “repeated” if approved to put a new constitution in the following next 6 months once elected.
The elected parliament will found a constitution committee made of 100 members from law experts , constitution experts , prominent personalities in the society and also representatives of the different sectors of the society. The constitution will be put and then the Egyptian people will go again to vote on its article one by one in a referendum.
Some people say that we should have that committee first and I will tell them it will need a lot of time to elect 100 members in that committee by direct election. Already what is the process we are going to elect these 100 members with ? Is it going to be like parliamentary election or what !? Amr Hamzawy spoke about electing combined lists , which means as a voter I have to choose from two or three lists made from 100 names !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May be I did not get him right. Anyhow in direct election process , you will give a golden opportunity for radicals and NDP remnants to write our new constitution. If we have a new constitution committee through direct election we can have Mortada Mansour in the committee. Some will say that no others will choose these 100 members and again I will ask them who these others are and who gave the right to choose on behalf of us.
Others like my dear Dr. ElBaradei speak about having a constitution in three months !!? The constitution needs more time especially if we are going , already for one article like no.75 we had this huge debate so what we will do when we reach to the presidential and parliamentary powers articles !!?
The presidential and parliamentary powers articles are the ones that determine if our political system will be a parliamentary or presidential and semi presidential. This is why I believe the constitution amendments committee did not touch these articles. Already for those who are scared that the constitution amendments will create another dictator because of these presidential powers articles , I will ask them then why to choose a man based on his charisma and not on his program !!? Thank God none of the presidential candidates who announce their intentions to run have any kind charisma to become the pharaoh idol this nation loves to hate. This irrational fear from another dictator underestimates the power of the people who brought down Mubarak after 30 years. People are not ignorant or idiot.
I am saying “Yes” because I do not want 1954 to happen again , for more 58 years now I have been ruled by military and now there is a golden chance I can’t miss or waste to have a real civilian life we once had prior the coup of 1952.
I am saying “Yes” because geopolitically the army has to return to the primary job and return back to the barracks , if you think the army can stay a year or more than you are totally wrong. I will not even speak about Eastern or Southern borders but I will speak about our western borders. If Qaddafi wins over the revolutionaries “ insh Allah he will not” , he will put us in his sick mind and his history is well known plus it happened before. FYI all the world now is speaking about the role and duty of the Egyptian army in Libya , the Arabs say we must help our brothers there and the West prefer to keep it Arab X Arab as it will be cheaper and safer. I do not have a problem that the Egyptian army to interfere along with other Arab armies but this is not the correct time at all the army is engaged in too many fronts I am afraid.
I am saying “Yes” because I am scared that Sami Anan will like the position and end up as the next president of Egypt. Already you must know the United States thinks so . Honestly I think the American with that report are burning him but you never know. You and I know the army is too damn popular and all people will say “Yes” if the general runs.
Already nobody now opens his or her mouth and criticizes the army , it is the second Mubarak in the media for God sake. For your information the movement of 1952 turned the revolution of 1952 thanks to Taha Hussein , oh yes the great Taha Hussein turned in to a revolution and the officers took it from there. Those who read and understand what happened in 1954 will know why we should not waste any time especially the army itself wants to leave after 6 months.
Before I leave this opinion , I want to say that I am not convinced with the idea of having a presidential council now because I know that the army’s representative will have the final word there too !! Let’s be realistic !! Not to mention how we are going to choose the other members of the council.
Knowing the political history of the Salafi movements and other religious movements aside from Muslim brotherhood , I believe that some of these movements are pushed by some remnants of Mubarak’s regime to create fear from the same old bogyman : “The Muslim brotherhood and the Salafi”. I will not speak about the Muslim brotherhood because my own explanation to the movement’s actions now is trying to please the army as much as they can. When was the last time MB enjoyed this status in Egypt in that way ?? I do not recall it actually.
Call me crazy , call me paranoid but this is what I began to suspect especially in the past few days that some of these Salafi groups are trigged by somebody to scare the people and the world and make them vote No. The Salafists are distributing flyers showing their total ignorance , Say Yes to keep article no.2 and to have a victory against the secular !!! Those idiots do not know that whether it is Yes or No we are going to change the whole constitution !!
Of course on the other side Egyptian Christians are scared from them and the leftists and liberals can’t stomach them either. Most if not all the Egyptian Christians I have met are going to vote No just because the MB and Salafists are going to vote yes and this makes me wonder what if the MB and Salafistis vote no !! The Christian Egyptians have to be worried but they should have confidence in their vote and also in the Egyptian Muslims.
The MB already made it clear that they will run for only 30% of the parliament and in normal democratic circumstances they can end up having 20% of the seats of the parliament especially they got a fierce competition now from the newly founded Al-Wasat party. Now regarding the Salafists ,well I have got bad news this is democracy , you have take it all or leave it. The only way to conquer them in democracy is by ideas not by security forces.
The liberal and leftist forces in the country claim that early elections will make the NDP and MB win the majority of the party. They believe the NDP will restructure itself in this short period , well pardon me but the long period will give it even longer time to restructure itself more stronger !! I do not understand till when the Liberal and leftist groups and powers in Egypt will continue complaining about the popularity and the structure of Muslim brotherhood in the country while they are siting on their asses doing nothing except talk , talk , talk !!? These political powers should go to the street and start talking to the people with their simple language , to the normal people at the country side and at the factories.
I once read that the AFC and cabinet will enroll the new parties law where parties officially recognized by just notification so dear liberals and leftists what are waiting for !!!?
There is a little political elitism I believe from these political groups that do not want to leave Cairo and spend sometime with Egyptians in Delta and Upper Egypt. They do not want to speak their language nor to listen the simple needs of these people. If these groups are not ready to go to the streets and start to fight ideas by ideas now , they will never be ready I am afraid.
Back to the constitution amendments , the Yes and No teams want the same thing but I believe the Yes team wants Utopia while we live in the real world and we need to be more active and proactive.
Some will remind me in a cheap attempt with the blood martyrs and the revolution that I am betraying while forgetting that these martyrs died so everyone like you and me can vote freely without knowing the result in advance or without someone forcing me to vote.
I will say Yes and if what I do not get what I want from a new constitution , I will simply go to Tahrir square again and I will not be alone at all.