ElBaradei slams presidential election

Fromer chief of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency Mohammed ElBaradei reiterated his disapproval of electing a president, who is to stay for a four-year term, before drafting the new Egyptian constitution. The Egyptian politicla heavyweight called for electing an interim president to run the country until the constitution was properly drafted and approved. ElBaradei described the process of electing a president “before the constitution defining political system" as a “travesty”. “Always going against the tide & always paying for it,” he added, on his Twitter page, criticising the manner with which authorities ran the country for decades, particularly during the past year since the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) was in charge. ElBaradei had recommended on January 27 a roadmap of five basic steps to be taken in a “chronological order”. First, to have an interim president elected by the parliament, second, have the Constituent Assembly draft the new constitution, which would in turn (the third step) define the political system and “guarantees the civil nature of state, protects inviolability of rights and freedoms.” The fourth step, according to ElBaradei’s statement, was holding presidential elections under the new constitution, and finally hold elections for a new parliament. He stated that it was time agree on correcting the political path, following a year of “erratic transition”.