[6] Mohammad Salim Al-Awa stated that a new Constituent Assembly would be formed within three months through general elections if the draft Constitution was voted down.

[8] The Constituent Assembly was originally elected by Parliament in March 2012, before being dissolved by a court in April after it was deemed unconstitutional.

[14] Mohamed Gadallah, the legal adviser to the Egyptian president, stated that Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council would oversee the referendum.

[16] The draft constitution ended Egypt's all-powerful presidency, instituted a stronger parliament, and contained provisions against torture or detention without trial.

The new charter said that the legal code stems from "the principles of Islamic law," wording that is broad enough to allow for individual rights and freedoms.

[19] But in an attempted compromise between the ultraconservatives and their liberal opponents, the proposed constitution added a new article defining those principles in accordance with established schools of Sunni Muslim thought.

The article said that no person may be "arrested, searched, incarcerated, deprived of freedom in any way and/or confined" unless it is ordered by a "competent judge".

[20] The new constitution limited the President to two four-year terms,[21] marking a clear shift away from the era of Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years.

[17] Ziad al-Ali of the International Institute for Democratic and Electoral Assistance noted that another article in the document called for the election of local councils in each province but kept all the power in the hands of federally appointed governors.

And even though Egypt's pervasive public corruption was a major complaint by those who forced Hosni Mubarak from power, the assembly declined to borrow any international models to promote transparency, Ali said.

[25] Sufi Sheikh Aboul Azayem opposed the draft constitution, arguing that it was only favorable towards the Muslim Brotherhood.

[36] The Hazemoun movement, made up of followers of Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a Salafi preacher, came out against the draft constitution.

They also argued that Christians and Jews should be governed by Islamic law and that the constitution should have stated that "divine authority" is the source of power not the people.

"[40] With regard to the referendum, Morsi went on to add that "there have been mistakes here and there, and I bear responsibility", but that "no matter what the hardships of the past [were], I see it as the pain of birthing the new Egypt ...