Prominent Journalist Calls For Political Reform via Amending Constitution

By Nawal Sayed

CAIRO, Dec. 31 (SEE) - A prominent Egyptian journalist called for amending the constitution and described his call as "Political Reforms". Based on his proposals, he suggests that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's term to be extended to six years instead of four, with Sisi leading a transitional council for "state protection" for five years.

Under the article "The Year

of Late Political Reform", Yasser Rizk, chairman of the government

newspaper Akhbar Al Youm, proposed an amendment to the country's governing

constitution.

In his constitutional proposal,

Rizk wrote in his article on Akhbar al-Youm on the fate of President Sisi after

his term in office, which began in 2014 and ends after two presidential

elections in 2022.

Rizk was the first journalist to

interview Sisi in 2013 as Egyptian Defense Minister.

He called for the amendment of several

articles in the 2014 constitution that came after the popular revolution of June

30, 2013, which toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Since Sisi took office, there have

been many media and parliamentary demands to amend the constitution to allow

longer presidential terms for Sisi, but there has been no formal comment on

these demands.

In his article published on Sunday,

Rizk wrote "while I appreciate the integrity of the intentions of the

constitution writing committee, the text of the presidential term of four years

only did not take into consideration that we are still in a transition stage

with its necessities and considerations."

"Constitutional lawmakers did not expect a

president to take office. He was forced to accept it under popular pressure. It

was not in their imagination that this popular hero would carry the

responsibility of the renaissance of Egypt and take great strides on a path

that does not seem to end in 2022," Rizk added.

In this regard, Rizk called for an

increase in the presidential term to six years "as a transitional text

that does not apply to incoming presidents."

"State Protection Council"

In addition, the writer called for

the formation of the "State Protection Council and the objectives of the

revolution" headed by Sisi as "the founder of the June 30 system and

the absolute statement of the third of July."

It was suggested that an article

be added to the Constitution providing for the establishment of such a

Transitional Council, with a five-year term beginning with the end of the Sisi

presidency.

He suggested that the Council

should include alongside Sisi the former and subsequent Presidents of Sisi, the

Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed

Forces and other officials.

House of Senate

Rizk proposed also foundation of a

Senate House, to act as an observatory body over the executive authority and

guarantee more accuracy in drafting and passing laws, most notably

complementary laws added to the Constitution.

Rizk also called for the creation

of a new article in the constitution or the addition of a paragraph to article

200 on the functions of the armed forces, which states that it is "a

guardian of the principles of the revolution of 30 June and the objectives of

the statement of the third of July."

In his defense of these proposals,

Rizk illustrated that "I have no doubt that the concern felt by the

overwhelming majority about the future of the government after the end of the

remaining three years of the presidency of the Sisi under the existing texts of

the Constitution is balanced by the Brotherhood and waiting for the group

before January 25 to connect what has been cut off from the reasons for power

and the seizure of power."