MUBARAK SUBMITS CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PACKAGE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 007251 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM EG SUBJECT: MUBARAK SUBMITS CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PACKAGE TO PARLIAMENT REF: CAIRO 7211 Classified By: Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Catherine Hill-Herndon, for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) On December 26, in accordance with procedural requirements for amending the Egyptian constitution, President Hosni Mubarak submitted to the People's Assembly and the Shoura Council a letter proposing the amendment of 34 constitutional articles. As anticipated reftel, the proposed changes can be broadly categorized as follows: -- Recasting the Executive-Legislative Relationship (Articles 74, 78, 82, 84, 85, 115, 118, 127, 133, 136, 138, 141, 195, and 205): Likely changes include strengthening parliamentary oversight of the budget; the prime minister (rather than the vice-president) being named interim head of state in the event the president is unable to carry out his duties; mandating that the president obtain parliamentary approval of a new cabinet; and other changes to enhance the responsibilities of the cabinet, Parliament, and the Shoura Council. -- Electoral Issues (Articles 62, 76, 88 and 94): The amendment of articles 62 and 94 will lay the groundwork for a subsequent new elections law establishing a proportional-representation electoral system, and set mandatory quotas for female parliamentarians. Article 76 (which sets onerous requirements for presidential candidates),will be amended to ease the requirements for presidential candidates from political parties, not independent candidates (a move designed to encourage legal political parties, but to exclude the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) from running a presidential candidate). Article 88 (judicial supervision of elections) will be amended to terminate the direct supervision of judges at every polling station, replaced with a Supreme Elections Commission (composed at least partially of high-ranking judges) tasked with supervising elections and conducting polls in one day (vice the previous practice of holding elections in various parts of the country on different days). -- Paving the Way for an Anti-Terror Law (Article 179): This article will likely be changed to give the government the flexibility to maintain various powers it would otherwise lose with the de-activation of the Emergency Law, through establishing "legal authorities to combat terrorism", and allowing legislators to "enact provisions to protect the society from terrorism." Changes to Article 179 will theoretically allow for the suspension of rights currently guaranteed by articles 41, 44, and 45 (no search, detention, inspection, wire-tapping, inspection of correspondence, or restriction of movement without a judicial or prosecutorial warrant). -- Deleting Socialist Terminology from the Constitution (Articles 1, 4, 12, 24, 30, 33, 37, 56, 59, 73, 180, and 194). ¶2. (C) In a surprise recommendation clearly targeted at the Muslim Brotherhood (MB),Mubarak also proposed the amendment of Article 5 (which currently reads, "The political system of the Arab Republic of Egypt is a multiparty system ..."),so as to formalize the de facto ban on "political parties based on religion, race, and lineage." Article 161 (which divides Egypt into administrative units at the provincial, city, and village levels) will be amended in an effort to encourage greater decentralization, and provide local councils with enhanced authorities. The amendment of Article 173 will mandate that the Supreme Judiciary Council (presided over by the President) be composed of the heads of the various judicial bodies. ¶3. (SBU) According to Parliamentary Speaker Fathi Surour, the General Committee of Parliament will meet on January 6 and 8 to prepare an initial report on Mubarak's proposals, following which the People's Assembly will discuss the proposed amendments, and refer the issue to Parliament's Legislative Committee, which will prepare a final draft of the proposed amendments. NDP Secretary-General Safwat El Sherif was quoted in Cairo newspapers on December 28 as stating that the national referendum on the amendments will be held by April 10. ¶4. (SBU) Post will report septel on the largely negative reaction thus far to the proposed amendments from opposition parties, the MB, the Judges Club, and civil society organizations. RICCIARDONE