EGYPT'S DRAFT CONSTITUTION ALTERS ROADMAP

A 50-member committee tasked with writing Egypt's constitution has approved a draft of the document that may change order of elections from a previously set roadmap, to lead with presidential polls rather than legislative. A political roadmap, put in place by the army following the July 3 coup against Egypt's first democratic civilian president Mohamed Morsi, had stipulated that presidential elections to take place after the nation chooses its parliament. The draft, approved by the committee on Sunday, says the "election procedures" must start within six months from the date of the constitution's ratification. The phrasing gives interim President Adly Mansour the last word on which elections come first, or whether both polls be held at the same time. The draft constitution will be put to a nationwide referendum in January. If endorsed by a majority, Egypt may not have an elected president or parliament until the second half of next year.