Islamic al-Nour party member included in Egypt panel to amend constitution

A Egyptian presidency spokesman said Sunday that a 50-member panel tasked with amending the constitution has two Islamist-oriented figures, including a member of the ultra-conservative al-Nour party and a former leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, state TV reported. The first session of the panel will be convened on Sept. 8 at the premises of the Shura Council (the upper house of the parliament), said the presidency spokesperson, Ihab Badawy, during a press conference on Sunday. Badawy stressed that the Egyptian presidency has called on eight Islamic movements including the Muslim Brotherhood, from which oust president Mohamed Morsi hails, to participate in amending the constitution, but only the Salafist al-Nour party accepted to join the panel. The panel has 60 days to finalize the draft before submitting it to the president, who should put forward the amendments for a public referendum within 30 days. The president will call for parliamentary elections 15 days after approval of the constitution. According to a presidential declaration issued on July 9, the presidential election will be called upon within one week from the parliament's first session.