More than 650 politicians and intellectuals vowed Saturday to push for a constitutional amendment to stop Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from serving another term in office. Mubarak, 76, has been Egypt's president since replacing his assassinated predecessor, Anwar Sadat, in 1981. His current six-year term ends in October 2005, and he has not chosen a successor.
| Though sonny-boy seems to be moving up quickly. |
| ... In four previous presidential referendums, which require Egyptians to vote yes or no, he has been the sole candidate... |
In four previous presidential referendums, which require Egyptians to vote yes or no, he has been the sole candidate. More than 650 people soon to be in prison - Islamists, Communists and 30 lawmakers - signed a petition in the name of The Popular Campaign for Reforms, to try to amend Egypt's constitution to limit a president to two terms. The petition, a copy of which was faxed to The Associated Press, called the system of one-man rule in Egypt "an obstacle to all opportunities for reform and progress." In the face of growing calls for reform, Mubarak's government underwent a major Cabinet reshuffle July 14, replacing the so-called old guard with more of the same a range of technocrats and business-minded ministers. Supporters of the move praised it for introducing new ideas and trying to revive the country's ailing economy. But critics said Mubarak was only making cosmetic changes to avoid the need for deep reform.
Petition signatory Ibrahim Mansour, a leading journalist and member of Egypt's press syndicate, acknowledged that the chances of forcing such a change were "slim," but he added that we will "push for changing the constitution anyway." Mubarak has previously ruled out amending Egypt's constitution to term limit the presidency, while the parliament has routinely rejected calls for more than one candidate to run at presidential elections.
Mubarak has not indicated whether he will run for another term. Speculation has been rife that his 41-year-old son, Gamal, who heads a powerful policy-making post within his father's political party, is being groomed to succeed him. The signatories also demanded the abolition of the country's emergency laws, which were adopted following Sadat's assassination and give far-reaching powers to police and other security forces and create military courts, which human rights activists have long criticized as unjust. |