CAIRO
Lawyers that support ousted president Mohamed Morsi filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against a Saturday appeal by interim President Adly Mansour for eligible voters to take part in an upcoming constitutional referendum.
"We're challenging procedures calling on voters to cast ballots in the plebiscite," campaign sponsor Emad Abo Hashim told Anadolu Agency.
On Saturday, Mansour urged Egyptians to vote on January 14 and 15 on a revised version of Egypt's 2012 constitution, which was suspended following the army's July 3 ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi.
Constitutional amendment is the first phase of an army-imposed roadmap for post-Morsi transition, which also calls for fresh parliamentary and presidential elections sometime next year.
In their lawsuit, lawyers argued that Mansour, who was installed as interim leader following Morsi's overthrow, was an "unconstitutional" president.
"This constitution has been drafted by an illegitimate panel that came about as a result of an illegal military coup," Abo Hashim argued.
A group of lawyers had earlier filed a legal complaint against the constitution-amending panel, saying the panel's formation violated an earlier constitutional declaration stipulating that the panel represent all state institutions and agencies.
Panel members, for their part, insist that the body is sufficiently representative.
Most of Egypt's Islamist parties, which back the ousted president, had turned down invitations to sit on the panel. The Salafist Nour Party, however, was the only Islamist force to be represented on the panel.
Hussein Qabani
englishnews@aa.com.tr
