Egypt Referendum on Draft Constitution on Jan. 14-15

Egypt said Saturday a referendum on a new draft constitution will be held next month, the first step towards elected rule in a country deeply polarized after president Mohammed Morsi's ouster.

"I call upon you to vote in a referendum on the draft revised constitution on January 14 and 15," interim president Adly Mansour said in a speech to the nation, accompanied by high-ranking officials and those who drafted the new charter.

The constitutional referendum is to be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections in mid-2014, according to a transition road map outlined by the new military-installed authorities.

The new constitution was drafted by a 50-member panel after the interim authorities suspended the previous version of the charter written under the Islamist Morsi.

Egypt's first democratically elected president was ousted by the army on July 3 after massive street protests against his turbulent year-long rule.

Morsi's removal caused deep divisions amid a sweeping and deadly government crackdown targeting his supporters that has left more than 1,000 people dead and thousands more arrested.

Mansour praised the revised draft for its provisions on the "securing of human rights, freedoms and the balancing of powers".

"It is a good start on which to build the institutions of a democratic and modern state," he said.

Amr Shobaki, a member of the panel that wrote the draft, told AFP Egypt was at a "turning point and its success would mean an end to a transitional phase as right now there are no elected institutions".

The revised charter has come under severe criticism from secular movements and rights groups for retaining the powers and privileges of the military.

It allows the military to prosecute civilians in some cases, appoint the defense minister and keep its budget beyond civilian scrutiny -- powers held by the legislature, executive and judiciary of most democracies.

"The fact that the draft would give the military a great deal of autonomy raises concerns about whether this institution will be held accountable for violations," Amnesty International said after the draft was published.

"It also casts doubt over whether the government will be able to institute desperately needed reforms to ensure that the military, police and security agencies respect human rights and are subject to independent oversight."

The rights group said that during the military junta's 17-month rule after the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, more than 12,000 civilians were tried unfairly by military courts.

However, several political groups have already started low-level campaigning in favor of the new basic law.

The Tamarod (rebellion) movement that led the campaign against Morsi's rule is backing the charter.

But Islamists are divided, with the Salafist Al-Nur party in favor and pro-Morsi groups against it.

Al-Nur, which had a representative on the panel that drafted the charter, says it will "campaign in favour of it".

The Anti-Coup Alliance led by the Muslim Brotherhood movement to which Morsi belongs staunchly opposes the charter and the referendum.

The alliance said in a statement earlier in December that it "rejects as a total waste of billions of Egyptian pounds a potentially rigged and certainly unconstitutional referendum to rubber stamp the country's most important document".

Egypt's Islamists were also divided over Morsi's ouster, with Al-Nur backing the military in deposing him along with Christian and Muslim religious institutions.

The Anti-Coup Alliance has staged near daily pro-Morsi protests since his removal.

The now discarded 2012 constitution written under Morsi was drafted by a 100-member panel dominated by his Islamist allies.