Amr Moussa, who heads the 50-member committee amending Egypt's constitution, said the new constitution will be "radically different" from its 2012 predecessor.
The statement comes after a week of tense negotiations within the amendment body, as well as rumours representatives would simply write a whole new document following a supposed presidential decree from interim President Adly Mansour.
"We will put [in the constitution] what demonstrates our respect for the army, just like the judiciary," Moussa claimed.
"The army has a special position for all of us, and it is one of the key institutions of the state that will take the rights it deserves in the constitution," he added.
Moussa said he is against abolishing the Shura Council in the new constitution, adding the council should be granted a legislative role beside the House of Representatives while drafting laws. Officials yesterday announced the Shura Council would be renamed The Senate in the new document, according to a draft proposal discussed in the committee.
Responding to accusations the liberal-left National Salvation Front is controlling the 50-member committee, Moussa claimed: "The committee has representatives from syndicates, churches and many other organizations."
"The committee is not dominated by a single movement - like the previous constituent assembly which drafted the 2012 Constitution," Moussa said.
