through the adoption of a new constitution. On 10 February 2011, during the 2011 Egyptian revolution, Mubarak requested the amendment of Articles 76, 77, 88, 93 and 189, and the removal of Article 179. However, Mubarak's resignation was announced the following day with the Supreme Council of Egyptian Armed Forces assuming control. On 13 February 2011, the armed forces suspended the constitution. It appointed the Egyptian constitutional review committee of 2011, and on 26 February 2011, the committee published a proposal to amend Articles 76, 77, 88, 93, 139, 148, and 189, as well as to remove Article 179. A referendum to accept or reject the changes was passed on 19 March 2011. Within days the constitution was reinstated with the amendments in the Egyptian Constitutional Declaration of 2011 that "effectively voided" the 1971 Constitution. This paved the way for the 2011 parliamentary elections and the 2012 presidential election. It required that the newly elected parliament form a new constitutional drafting committee—the Constituent Assembly of Egypt—to write a permanent constitution for Egypt. On 30 November 2012, a draft constitution was approved by the Assembly, and on 26 December 2012, President Mohamed Morsi signed the new constitution into law. Overview The Constitutional Proclamation of the constitution declares the main principles of the Egyptian Political system which are: Peace through Freedom Arab Unity National Development Freedom The constitution establishes Egypt as a "Democratic State", deriving its sovereignty from the people, and as part of the Arab World. It proclaims the system of government as a multi-party Semi-presidential system within the framework of the basic principles and components of the Egyptian society. The Constitution upholds the concept of separation of powers; hence balances the powers of the three main authorities (Executive, Parliament, and the Judiciary). Within this scheme, the Parliament monitors the actions of Executive Authority through many mechanisms and instruments, and in order to fulfill such monitoring role, members of the People's Assembly enjoy parliamentary immunity. The Constitution establishes party plurality as the foundation of the political system (Article 5) and so allows the formation of different political parties, but political parties are not allowed to be established based on any discriminatory basis such as religion, race, or sex. The Constitution also sets out methods for its own amendment by the request of either the People's Assembly or the President, both of which have to be subjected to a public referendum, after