Let's write our constitution avatar from the initiative official Facebook page
“Let’s write our constitution” is the latest initiative by activists in Egypt to involve citizens in the process of shaping the upcoming draft constitution. The initiative was announced by the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre in May. The centre will hold the first founding meeting for volunteers on Tuesday, 28 June at the Press Syndicate in Cairo at 6:00pm.
The initiative aims to achieve two objectives: the formulation of a social contract and a draft constitution. The proposed social contract should represent the rights and duties of Egyptian citizens while the draft constitution should represent the new shape of the Egyptian state, the relation between citizens and the state’s authorities and the balance between these authorities.
The initiative will depend on volunteers to reach out to different social classes, ethnicities and religious sects and groups in Egypt along with trade unions and similar societal organisations. The ultimate aim is to spark discussions about the needs, hopes and rights of the citizens as well the relation between Egyptians and their state on a wide scale. Members of the initiative believe that the provisional assembly that will draft the coming constitution will represent the Egyptian society at large whether it will be elected through direct elections – in the case of ‘constitution first’ – or through indirect elections – in the case of ‘parliament first’.
Despite the fact that the initiative has been announced during the current intense debate between ‘constitution first’ camp and the ‘parliament first’ camp, the activists behind the initiative are insisting that their proposal has nothing to do with either group.
As with most political initiatives in Egypt these days, the initiative is using Facebook pages and events to create awareness among Egypt’s youth who are eager to participate in shaping the political future of the country. The initiative will also launch a website dedicated to the discussions about the constitution and the proposed social contract.
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