Egyptian leftist presidential candidate Khaled Ali has announced his rejection of any amendment to Egypt's constitutional declaration by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) aimed at limiting the authority of Egypt's next president.

In a Tuesday press statement, Ali asserted that Egypt's current constitutional declaration – issued by the SCAF after last year's revolution and approved via popular referendum – guarantees the president sufficient powers. He went on to warn that any change to the declaration in its current form would end up granting the ruling SCAF additional powers at the expense of the president.

"If any amendments are made to the constitutional declaration, they should be made to Article 28," said Ali, in reference to the article that makes decisions issued by the Supreme Presidential Elections Commission (SPEC) impervious to appeal.

Following Egyptian political groups' inability to agree on the rules governing the constitution-drafting process before upcoming presidential elections, reports emerged hinting at the possibility that the SCAF might issue a new constitutional declaration aimed at resolving the crisis.

Parliament has yet to elect members the 100-member constituent assembly tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution. But the criteria by which committee members will be chosen remains the subject of ongoing debate among different Egyptian political forces.   

The ongoing constitutional crisis remains unresolved a mere two weeks before Egypt's first post-Mubarak presidential polls, slated for 23 and 24 May.