Strong Egypt Party head Abdel-Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, (Photo: Reuters)
Strong Egypt Party leader Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh has called for a No vote in the upcoming constitutional referendum.
In a press statement on Monday, the former Muslim Brotherhood member said the party rejected the draft charter for the same reasons it rejected the 2012 version.
The party said the Islamist-drafted 2012 charter failed to promote social justice and gave too much power to the president.
Abul-Fotouh, a former presidential candidate, said the current draft does not fulfil the goals of the January 25 Revolution and makes the military a "state above the state."
The new charter permits the trial of civilians by military tribunals - as did the 2012 version. It also gives the army the right to appoint the defense minister during the first eight years.
The party also criticised the drafting process of the 2013 charter, complaining in a statement in August that the 50-member drafting committee included few politicians, and the ten-member panel of constitutional experts, which made preliminary amendments to the charter, lacked transparency.
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