AFTE strongly condemns the undemocratic nomination of Ahmed Ayman El Markbi as students’ representative in the drafting committee of the new Egyptian constitution. The rationale behind his nomination was vague, not transparent and based on lies claiming that he was the chair of the Egyptian students’ parliament, while he is only a representative of the Mansoura parliament of El Mansoura students. According to Mostafa Ashraf from the Faculty of Medicine, EL Menya university El Marakbi was chosen since he was the son of the secretary general of the Freedom and Justice party in Damietta as well as the nephew of Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the secretary general of the party, a fact denied by both El Marakbi and his uncle. Ashraf added that he will contest the membership of El Marakbi and will demand compensation in view of the latter’s false claim that he was the chair of the students’ parliament nationwide.

The step comes as an extension of the previous non democratic procedures undertaken by the university administration, foremost their sudden announcement of the beginning of student elections. The minister of higher education had announced that the student union to be elected will be the pool from which a student will be chosen to represent the Egyptian student community in the constitution drafting committee. Yesterday, before the elections even took place, El Marakbi was chosen to be that representative, without any consultation with students.

AFTE questions the mechanism used in choosing Al Markbi. The constitution should be based on a wide social consensus and has to represent all sectors of the Egyptian people. Choosing candidates for membership of the committee would be equally based on consensus and efficiency. The only rationale of choosing El Markabi is to increase the number of participating Muslim Brotherhood members irrespective of both consensus and efficiency.

Omar Saher, media representative of “Resistance” students movement concludes that the organization of union elections according to the old bylaws does not only target the representation of Muslim Brotherhood students as representatives but also to enforce a status quo and imposing the old bylaws, which he describes as a product of state security authorities.

AFTE believes that the procedures used in dealing with university students, based on a belief that they are unable to chose, trying to enforce an unwarranted control over their affairs, is unacceptable, especially with the widespread revolt in Egyptian universities since the revolution and until now. Students continue to struggle for their rights and to develop democratic mechanisms and procedures on campus. The above mentioned decision comes in violation of those efforts, depriving students from an opportunity to democratically elect their representatives in a constitutional committee which is to decide the future of the country for many years to come.