almotamar.net - Chairman of the parliamentary constitutional and legal affairs committee Ali Abu Hlaiqa read out Sunday the government request for amending some articles of the general election and referendum law for 2001.

Meanwhile the opposition member of parliament Sultan al-Attwani refused that one of members of parliament to present the government's request of the amendments. The opposition MP said the government has two ministers who are the minister of parliament and Shoura council affairs and the minister of legal affairs and they should have been present to present the request to the parliament and he also expressed his opposition of the draft amendments.

Deputy chairman of the General People's Congress (GPC) parliamentary bloc Yasser al-Awadhi asserted on his part that the parliament is the master of its decision, indicating that the parliament has issued a decision giving the political parties one week grace period to agree on he supreme commission for elections, calling on the members of parliament to undertake their constitutional and legal duty.

Al-Awadhi added that listening to the government request from a mister of a member of parliament is not an essential problem. Concerning that matter al-Awadhi said that reading out the government's for amendment came to notify the members of the parliament on the subject until the attending of the minister of parliament and shoura council affairs to present the request on Monday.

The amendments draft includes reconsideration of articles 21, 22, 19 and amendment of article 19 of the election law stipulated formation of the election commission from 7 members chosen by the president of the republic from among 14 recommended by the parliament out of 22 judges nominated by the Higher Judiciary Council in response to the parliament request. The list of nominees is approved by a majority of two thirds of parliament and the Higher Judiciary Council. Article 21 stipulated that the one nominated for the supreme commission must be a judge of a degree no less than an appeals court judge. Amendment of article 22 of the law prohibited the member of the election supreme commission to nominate himself for any general elections or take part in electoral propaganda for parties or candidates.

The government mentioned about the amendment that they came in implementation of an agreement of principles signed by the political parties before the presidential and local elections of September last year. Among the justifications presented by the government concerning the amendments is that judiciary monitoring of the election process is considered an essential legal guarantee for elections.