Egypt Parliament Meets To Name Constitution Panel

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian parliamentarians are meeting to name the panel that will draft the country’s new constitution amid deep polarization between liberals and Islamists over the process.

The Saturday meeting is likely to be part of a weeks-long struggle over the charter that will define Egypt’s identity. After the panel writes the constitution, it will be put to a vote in a national referendum. The old 1971 constitution was abolished after the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak last year.

Liberal judges and activists have filed legal challenges to the decision by the Islamist-dominated parliament to appoint 50 of the 100 council members from their ranks and 50 from outside.

Critics say the Islamist majority intends to control the writing of the constitution.