Younis Makhioun, leader of the Salafist Al-Nour Party, rejected on Sunday statements by Amr Moussa, elected head of the 50-strong constitutional amendment committee yesterday, which described the committee's work as closer to drafting a new constitution than amending articles from the suspended 2012 Constitution.
 
"This statement is dangerous, and deviates from what was announced in the roadmap: that the 50-member committee's work was only to amend some of the articles suspended from the 2012 Constitution," posted Makhioun on his official Facebook page late on Sunday.
 
Al-Nour Party leader added that drafting a new constitution was actually a waste, considering that Egyptian voters supported the 2012 Constitution by two-thirds of the votes.
 
"If the 2012 Constitution took six months to draft and, still, its constituent assembly was accused of finishing it in a hurry, how could this committee draft a new constitution in two months?" Makhioun exclaimed.
 
According to the roadmap adopted by the political powers in Egypt following the ousting of president Morsi, the 50-member committee will spend 60 days amending the 2012 Constitution. A national referendum on the constitutional amendments should then take place within 30 days, followed by parliamentary elections and, lastly, presidential elections.
 
"I hope that, as head of the 50-member body, Amr Moussa clearly announces the mission of the committee according to the roadmap he is committed to," said Makhioun.
 
Earlier on Sunday the 50-member committee spokesperson, Mohamed Salmawy, described the 2012 Constitution as "the most backward constitution in Egypt's history." The spokesperson added that "amending the constitution is not possible, as constitutions are not merely a set of articles, but rather a soul and a philosophy."