The Suit Magazine

According to Voice of America, Egypt's military rulers have appointed former Egyptian judge Tareq el-Bishri to lead an eight-member panel, which will include sitting judges, legal experts, and former lawmaker Sobhi Saleh of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group banned under Mubarak.  The panel’s job will be to amend the constitution to allow for democratic elections later this year.

The timetable allows 10 days for a drafting of the constitutional amendments, which will be presented to the public for a national referendum within two months.  A new constitution was one of the key goals of recent public protests.  The previous version, now suspended by the military, had language to keep Mr. Mubarak and his allies in power.  Possible democratic reforms include enabling more candidates to run for the presidency, imposing term limits on the post, and forming more political parties.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood announced on Tuesday that it plans to establish itself as a party as soon as the ruling military eliminates a law that has outlawed their Islamist movement for years. The Brotherhood is the country's most well-organized opposition group.

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