Sources close to Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II said the pontiff had asked interim president Adly Mansour to specify a 10 percent quota of parliamentary seats for Christians.
“The Pope reiterated the support of the church and Christians for the transitional roadmap and the new constitution,” one source told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity for the sensitivity of the issue.
Mansour met Wednesday with the pope and several senior clergymen to discuss a wide range of political issues, including the election system for the next parliamentary elections, whose date has not been decided yet.
Sources said the Pope and church leaders welcomed the application of an individual representation election system, provided that Christians are represented fairly.
They said the church leaders also told Mansour that around 48 churches were attacked in the violence that followed the army’s ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi last summer.
Officials from the Egyptian Presidency and Orthodox Church were not immediately available for comment.
Pope Tawadros II had campaigned for a “yes” vote on the amended version of Egypt’s 2012 constitution.
Egypt’s High Election Commission announced on Saturday that 38.6 percent of eligible voters, estimated at around 53 million, had cast their ballot in last week’s two-day referendum.
It said 98.1 percent of the voters approved the new charter.
Mansour paid an unprecedented visit by an Egyptian head of state to the Orthodox Church early this month to congratulate church leaders on the occasion of Christmas.
Pope Tawadros II, together with Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayedb, stood should to shoulder with army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi when he announced the post-Morsi roadmap on July 3.
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Egypt Copts want 10% representation in parliament | Middle East | World Bulletin