Egypt’s Administrative Court on Tuesday referred a lawsuit on the fate of the Constituent Assembly to the High Constitutional Court. The decision means the status of the constitution-drafting body remains uncertain. 

GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION

President Morsi tries to hold together, calling for dialogue meeting
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is scheduled to meet with representatives of political parties, national leaders and revolutionary youth forces on Wednesday, reports his spokesman, Yasser Ali. Morsi also plans to meet with a delegate from the Sunni Muslim authority, Al-Azhar, headed by its Grand Imam and attended by Coptic Church officials. According to Ali the meeting is planned to ensure dialogue between the presidency and all influential Egyptian political forces. [Ahram Online, 10/23/2012]

ElBaradei, Sabbahi to announce constitution initiative
Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi and reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei will announce the formation of a political front to demand “a constitution that represents all Egyptians,” in a press conference Tuesday. Different political groups, intellectual figures, and artists will attend the conference at the Journalists Syndicate, according to the Facebook page of the Popular Current, an alliance of secular opposition groups. [Egypt Independent, 10/23/2012]

Aswan governor resigns after protests
Aswan Governor Mostafa al-Sayed resigned Tuesday morning after a month-long campaign by a large number of local activists demanding his removal. Revolutionary forces in Aswan had long raised concerns about the governor’s ties to the regime of erstwhile President Hosni Mubarak, accusing him of corruption and supporting the formerly ruling National Democratic Party. [Egypt Independent, 10/23/2012]

COURTS & CONSTITUTION

Egypt’s Constituent Assembly referred to High Constitutional Court
Egypt’s Administrative Court on Tuesday referred a lawsuit on the fate of the Constituent Assembly to the High Constitutional Court. The decision means the status of the constitution-drafting body remains uncertain. The court will rule on the constitutionality of Article 1 of Law 79 for 2012 which deals with the criteria by which assembly members were chosen and the legality of permitting MPs to select those members. The court will begin investigating the case within 45 days. [Ahram Online, Reuters, EGYNews (Arabic), 10/23/2012]

Constituent Assembly members offer different reactions to Administrative Court ruling
The Administrative Court in Cairo referred the law regulating the Constituent Assembly to the Supreme Constitutional Court Tuesday, a decision that gives the Islamist-dominated assembly more time to draft the first constitution after the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak. Some members of the Constituent Assembly expressed hope that today’s decision and future court rulings would leave the body intact. [Egypt Independent, Ahram Online, 10/23/2012]

Salafists and liberals exchange fire over Egypt’s draft constitution
An argument between Islamists and liberals over the terms of the draft constitution erupted on Monday, jeopardising the fate of the charter. The two camps both said that unless their conditions were met, they would withdraw from the ranks of the 100-member Constituent Assembly tasked with writing the constitution. [Ahram Online, Ahram (Arabic), 10/22/2012]

Egypt’s Fathi Sorour released as corruption probe continues
Former parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorour was released from prison without bail on Tuesday after an appeal court ruled that corruption accusations against him were not serious enough to keep him in detention. Sorour is being investigated by the Illicit Gains Authority (IGA) in relation to corruption charges. Sorour had been remanded in custody since 20 April. [Ahram Online, 10/23/2012]

ECONOMY

Egypt association plans list of Islamic stocks
An Egyptian association plans to launch a list of sharia-compliant equities next week as part of its efforts to raise awareness of Islamic finance in the country. The list will filter out companies which fail to meet religious guidelines, such as avoiding excessive levels of debt and steering clear of industries that are deemed unethical, including alcohol and gambling. [Egypt Independent, DNE, 10/23/2012]

SOCIETY & MEDIA

Egypt’s National Council for Women rejects constitution draft
Egypt’s national body for women’s issues, the National Council for Women, held a conference on Monday entitled "Egyptian women reject the draft constitution." According to the Council’s head, Mervat El-Tellawy, the draft constitution has not taken into consideration various international charters and agreements which Egypt has signed. Furthermore, the Al-Azhar document of suggested principles for all parties to abide by while writing the constitution has not been incorporated into the draft. [Ahram Online, 10/22/2012]

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Egypt and Cyprus to jointly explore Mediterranean deepwaters
The Egyptian and Cypriot governments have agreed to cooperate in exploring offshore oil and gas in the waters between the two countries. Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ossama Kamal, stated during his meeting with the Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Neoclis Sylikiotis, that Egypt will send a delegation to Cyprus to pursue cooperation. [DNE, 10/22/2012]

Photo Credit: Hassan Ibrahim/DNE

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