Egypt's constitution-drafting body commissioned various sub-committees on Tuesday, Ahram's Arabic website reports.
The committee-of-fifty approved the rules of procedure for its work on Monday, including the division of the committee into five sub-committees, which will each be responsible for proposing amendments to articles related to their fields of expertise.
Sameh Ashour, chairman of the lawyers' syndicate, head of the Nasserist Party, and co-founder of the National Salvation Front, was elected head of the social dialogue and communication sub-committee, which is responsible for receiving and reviewing suggestions from institutions, bodies and civil society organisations.
Hoda El-Sada, Cairo university English literature professor, was elected head of the freedoms and political rights sub-committee.
Amr El-Shobaki, political analyst and head of the Arab-European Unit at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic studies, was elected head of the system of governance sub-committee. This group is expected to propose solutions to debates about the parliamentary-election voting system and to discuss the pros and cons of a presidential government vis-à-vis a mixed government.
Mohammad Abdel-Salam, judge and consultant for Al-Azhar's Grand Imam, was elected head of the fundamental principles sub-committee, which has been asked to review 39 constitutional articles, including articles 1 and 2, as well as controversial article 219.
Article 219, added by the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly during the 2012 drafting of Egypt's new constitution, states that "the principles of Islamic Sharia include its commonly accepted interpretations, its fundamental and jurisprudential rules, and its widely considered sources, as stated by the schools of Sunna and Gamaa."
Non-Islamist critics charge that Article 219 opens the door for discrimination against non-Sunni and other minorities.
Abdel-Galeel Mostafa, leading member of the liberal Constitution Party and co-founder of the National Salvation Front, was elected head of the drafting sub-committee, which will be charged with writing the final text of the constitution, based on the proposals of the various commissions and committee members.
Amr Moussa, chairman of the constitution-drafting committee, has given the elected commissions three weeks to propose their suggestions, and has asked each delegation to make a weekly presentation regarding its activities every Thursday.
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