Cunning of Sadat cost him dearly as well as the homeland. Most of his retinue supported him without even thinking. He took office in 1970, and witnessed the great 1971 Constitution which stated that the presidential term is 6 years for only two sessions. This means he had to hand over the presidency in 1982. However, Sadat was hoping to rule forever.
Therefore, he decided to use the religion to achieve his goal. He amended the second article of the Constitution to state that the Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation.
Sadat didn’t benefit from this amendment, as he was assassinated in 1981, even before he completed the second period. One of his friends advised him to add article in the Constitution to state that the president shall remain in power for life, but he was confident he will stay in office for life without such article.
Mubarak was the one who benefited from this amendment and stayed in office for 30 years. This was the reason behind the great deterioration of the country and the revolution of January 25.
Therefore, one achievement of the new constitution after the revolution of January 25 is the limitation of the presidential term for 4 years and for only two sessions. However, some of the retinue is trying to impose another amendment to make the president stay forever and make Egypt start over!
