A committee revising Egypt's constitution after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak is focusing on changes needed to guarantee democratic elections in six months.
Lawyer Sobhi Saleh is the only member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood on the 10-man committee given just 10 days by Egypt's new military rulers to propose amendments to the constitution.
The army council that took power when Mubarak stepped down as president on 11 February has suspended the existing constitution, which made it almost impossible for anyone outside Mubarak's party to challenge for the presidency.
It formed the constitutional committee last Tuesday to draw up proposals that will be put to a referendum within two months.
The state news agency MENA had said yesterday that the committee had nearly finished its work and will issue a formal report on Tuesday.
Drafting a completely new constitution would only be possible when there were stable political institutions and established political forces to guide the process.
Egypt held its first multi-candidate presidential race in 2005, but the rules prevented any realistic challenge to Mubarak. Elections were routinely rigged, and judges were sidelined from monitoring them.
The changes will include allowing independent candidates to run if they gathered enough signatures from citizens, though he did not say how many would be needed.
The changes would also govern rules for political parties fielding candidates.
Under the suspended constitution, an independent needed 250 signatures from elected members of parliament and local councils, an impossible task as all the bodies were stacked full of members of Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP).
The committee is also considering proposing a limit of two four-year terms for the president, following the US system.
