The initiative launched by President Hosni Mubarak in 2005 of amending Article 76 of the 1971 Constitution whereby the President of Egypt would be elected by secret direct ballot represents a link in a long chain of reforms yet to be introduced, which seek to achieve development in the political, economic and social fields. The initiative also marks a qualitative shift in the process of modernizing the country's political regime.

Constitutional reforms have occupied top priority in President Mubarak's electoral platform. His manifesto seeks to place a set of checks and balances to avoid the overlap of authorities, uphold citizens' rights and public liberties; enrich party life and improve the status of the municipalities.

Constitutional reforms, therefore, will achieve the following:

• Restructuring the relations between the Legislative and Executive powers for greater balance and for a stronger Parliament role with respect to government monitoring and accountability.

• Boosting Cabinet role and competences and broadening the scope of the government's participation with the President in the tasks of the Executive.

• Placing checks and balances on the President's powers as defined in the Constitution in cases of threats to national security and/or obstacles impeding State institutions with regard to performing their Constitutional role.

• Adopting the parliamentary electoral system will most guarantee the opportunity for the best political party representation.

• By means of election, ensuring a minimum number of seats for women in parliament.

• Developing the municipalities by boosting their executive and monitoring role and enhancing decentralization.

• Drafting a new law on terrorism to replace the Emergency Law.

• Ensuring the independence of the Judiciary by abolishing the Supreme Council for Judicial Authorities, the position of the Socialist Prosecutor and the Court of Values.

• Ensuring compatibility between the articles of the Constitution and the contemporary economic conditions; by committing to the country's new economic course, promoting social justice and free economy, guaranteeing the right to ownership in all its forms and protecting workers' rights.

Both the National Democratic Party and the government believe that these goals are achievable within the framework of the current Constitution, which outlines a political regime based on the separation of powers, and which guarantees freedom of faith, expression and vote, and protects human rights. The Constitution also ensures multi-partisanship, the right to establishing trade union and associations, and freedom of the press and the media.

The NDP also maintains that the Constitutional reforms mentioned by President Mubarak in his electoral platform do not aim at embracing an entirely parliamentary system of government, but rather at espousing a blend of the parliamentary and presidential systems. The Egyptian Constitution stands in the middle between the two systems. Legitimacy depends on the political will as manifested through public ballot in both presidential and parliamentary elections.

At the opening session of the People's Assembly and Shura Council in December 2005, President Mubarak called for polling MPs over the reforms proposed in his electoral platform using the means most suitable for each council.

A report on the results was forwarded to the President. The NDP submitted a number of ideas which can be summed up in the following:

Restructuring the relationship between the Legislative and the Executive powers for greater balance11:05 AM 1/9/2007 and for a stronger Parliament role with respect to government monitoring and accountability

The NDP has submitted a number of proposals to that end:

• To have the prime minister's accountability to Parliament so adjusted as for the latter to be able to withdraw confidence from the government without holding a referendum.

• To establish Parliament's right to introducing changes to the general budget, within a set of given controls maintaining a sense of overall balance to the draft budget; the timing for budget review and for the final statement may also be changed to provide enough time for careful study by the people's representatives.

• The Shura Council should be granted the right to making laws, with respect to Constitutional amendments, and to legislations supplement thereto.

Boosting cabinet role and competences and broadening the scope of the government's participation with the President in the tasks of the Executive:

Under Article 138 of the Constitution, "The President of the Republic in conjunction with the government shall lay down the general policy of the State and supervise its implementation in the manner prescribed in the Constitution." Article 132 also stipulates that "the President of the Republic shall give a statement of the general policy of the State. He shall also give other statements before the Assembly.

The Assembly is entitled to discuss the statement of the President of the Republic." The NDP proposes broadening the scope of the Cabinet's authorities regarding a number of matters before submitting them for review by the President. These include Law-enactment statutes, and decisions instituting and organizing public facilities.

Placing checks and balances on the President's powers as defined in Article 74 of the Constitution in case of threats to national security and/or obstacles impeding state institutions with regard to performing their Constitutional role:

The NDP proposes the following:

• In case of danger threatening national unity or the country’s safety and/or of obstacles encumbering the Constitutional role of State institutions, the NDP proposes that the President should, after consulting with the Prime Minister and the Speakers of both the People's Assembly and Shura Council, take urgent measures, which would enable State authorities to carry out their Constitutional role.

Adopting the parliamentary electoral system most guaranteeing the opportunity of best political party representation:

Several changes have been introduced to Egypt's parliamentary electoral system since 1866, when the absolute majority single-winner system was applied. In 1983, the system was replaced with proportional representation, whereby to enter Parliament a Party should win 8 per cent of the vote.

In 1984, the system was declared unconstitutional, on the grounds that it restricted candidacy to party members. In 1986, law No. 188 was promulgated which created a mix between absolute majority and proportional representation, allowing independents to run for seats alongside party members.

The absolute majority single-winner system was applied in the parliamentary elections of 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005.

The NDP proposes several Constitutional amendments with a view to selecting the electoral system most guaranteeing the opportunity of best political party representation in Parliament.

•Ensuring a minimum number of seats for women in parliament:

Law No 41 for 1979 was promulgated assigning a minimum of 30 seats to women in the Egyptian Parliament. Law No. 114 for 1983 raised the figure to 31. In 1986, however, Law No. 188 ruled out women-allotted seats as unconstitutional.

The Party believes it necessary that women be adequately represented in parliamentary councils and seeks to achieve this by introducing the necessary Constitutional and legislative amendments.

Developing the municipalities by boosting their executive and monitoring role and enhancing decentralization:

Both the NDP and the government believe it necessary to develop the Local Administration system by enhancing its executive and monitoring powers, the fact being that they are the closest to the pulse of the public and the most understanding of its needs and demands. The system is also the apparatus best applying democracy at the local level.

The NDP and the government strive to develop the system by introducing the Constitutional and legislative amendments likely to enhance the authorities of local community councils as well as ensuring decentralization.

Drafting a new law on terrorism to replace the Emergency Law: With terrorism still being a threat to Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak, in his electoral manifesto, has made a commitment to promulgate a law on terrorism to replace the Emergency Law.

To that end, the government has been entrusted with forming a committee to draft a new law, which includes the membership of a number of experts in the fields.

The committee has reached the following conclusions:

• The law on terrorism shall not echo the rulings of the Emergency Law, nor shall its text be a re-writing of their content.

• It is essential that the law strikes a balance between the rights and duties of individuals, on the one hand, and the means to eliminating terrorism, and to rooting out all means of funding it.

Promulgating the new law does by no means, however, indicate abolishing the Emergency Law. It rather implies an end to the state of emergency. The case is that most countries have applied anti-terror laws alongside emergency laws, which are used only in times of crisis.

The independence of the Judiciary should be ensured by abolishing the Supreme Council for Judicial Authorities, the position of the Socialist Prosecutor and the Court of Values.

Compatibility between the articles of the Constitution and contemporary economic conditions should be ensured; through committing to the country's new economic course, promoting social justice and free economy, guaranteeing the right to ownership in all its forms and protecting workers' rights