Egypt's liberal MPs quit constitution panel vote

Egyptian liberal MPs withdrew on Saturday from a crucial parliament vote for a panel to draft a new constitution amid a rift with Islamists over the constituent assembly's make up, liberals said. The liberals accused the majority Islamists of trying to monopolise the 100-member panel, whose constitution will replace the one annulled by the ruling military after an uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak last year.
"All our MPs withdrew," said Naguib Sawiris, founder of the Free Egyptians Party, the largest liberal party in the Islamist-dominated parliament. "It's ridiculous," he said. "A constitution being written by one force and one force alone. We tried our best and there was no use." Sawiris said two parties, including his and a coalition of secular and left-leaning parties, withdrew from the vote for the 100-member panel, half of which will be senators and parliamentarians. At least two other parties had boycotted the voting from the start, including the leftwing Tagammu party.