Protesters in Egypt have battled police and pro-regime activists in a bid to oust their long-time ruler and replace him in free elections, but they may have another hurdle to overcome: The Constitution.

In two weeks of demonstrations, protesters have made it clear their first demand is the immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt for 30 years, longer than many of his younger opponents have been alive.

So far, he has attempted to placate them by appointing his first-ever vice President, pledging not to stand in September elections and offering to ease the conditions for presidential candidacy.

Mr Mubarak on Tuesday formed a panel to oversee constitutional amendments including article 76 which governs candidacy, article 77 which removed term limits on the presidency and article 88 on judicial vote supervision.

Protesters have held firm in their demand for his departure, but some activists and experts warn that the language of the Constitution means his immediate exit could actually hamstring Egypt’s democratic transition.

“The document has been booby-trapped,” Middle East expert Nathan Brown wrote in Foreign Policy magazine, pointing out that the power to change it lies exclusively with Mr Mubarak.

“For those who are attempting to move Egypt in a democratic direction ... today’s problem is how to force the regime to negotiate the terms of transition in good faith,” he said.

If Mr Mubarak leaves office, the Constitution requires presidential elections within 60 days, but its candidacy limits would virtually guarantee the top job to a member of his ruling National Democratic Party.

“It would be a disaster to have Presidential elections under the current constitution,” said Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

Amendments made by Mr Mubarak himself impose “impossible conditions” on would-be candidates, intended to ensure “that he or his son or his chosen candidate can win, and that no other credible candidate is able to,” he said.

Mr Bahgat and others argue that a middle path must be charted, keeping Mr Mubarak on temporarily so he can initiate constitutional reform, delegate power and usher in a broad-based transitional government.

“We would love, of course, to start over on a clean slate, but the problem is now, as change advocates, we need the Constitution much more than Mr Mubarak and his regime do,” he said.

Other reformers agree. One group that includes prominent businessman Naguib Sawiris, analyst Amr Hamzawy and journalist Salama Ahmed Salama outlined their reform proposal on the pages of the independent Al-Shorouk newspaper.

And an Egyptian rights group has even drawn up a 15-day timetable under which constitutional amendments could be drafted and voted upon.

The suggestions contain the same key points. They want Mr Mubarak to first delegate power to several vice Presidents, effectively stripping his office of authority to do anything but amend the Constitution and lift Egypt’s emergency law.

The President would then offer amendments to some of the Constitution’s most controversial articles, including articles 76 and 77.

In line with the Constitution, the amendments would then be adopted by Egypt’s legislature, in its final act before being dissolved. Finally, the amendments would be put to a referendum, and new elections for the President and Parliament would be organised after they were adopted.

The process could provide “a way out of the grave crisis that has plagued the country and its citizens,” the group writing in Al-Shorouk said.

For some demonstrators out on the street, the proposals miss the point, giving Mr Mubarak a way to leave his stamp on Egypt’s future and cling to office a little longer.

Mr Bahgat acknowledges that some of the protesters see the constitutional proposals as a concession to a much-hated regime. But he defends them as essential.

“What we have achieved so far is tremendous,” he said. “But at some point we have to get from the demonstrations into a transition to democracy.”

Reactions

• Gulf activists yesterday urged conservative monarchies which have ruled the region for centuries to embrace democracy and freedom of expression.

They also warned Gulf authorities, especially in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, against cracking down on activists planning to stage peaceful protests, and urged the United Arab Emirates to release an activist arrested last week.

“We hope that the ruling families in the Gulf realise the importance of democratic transformation to which our people aspire,” said a statement signed by the coordinator of the Gulf Civil Society Forum, Anwar al-Rasheed. The Forum includes dozens of liberal intellectuals, academics, writers and rights activists drawn from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states.

• Al-Qaeda-front group The Islamic State of Iraq has called on Egyptian protesters to wage jihad and push for the establishment of a government based on Islamic law, the US-based SITE monitoring service said. The statement, which appears to be the first reaction of any group affiliated with Al-Qaeda to the ongoing protests in Egypt, was issued on jihadist forums according to the US group.

The message, addressed to the protesters, says that the “market of jihad” has opened in Egypt and “the doors of martyrdom have opened,” and every able-bodied man must participate. The group urged Egyptians to ignore the “ignorant deceiving ways” of secularism, democracy, and “rotten pagan nationalism.” “Your jihad,” the message said, is in support of Islam, the weak and oppressed in Egypt, for “your people” in Gaza and Iraq, and “for every Muslim who was touched by the oppression of the tyrant of Egypt and his masters in Washington and Tel Aviv,” read a translation of the text provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.

• Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said yesterday it remains open to dialogue with the Egyptian regime, but repeated their demand for President Hosni Mubarak to leave office immediately.“The President must leave his position. A new era should start,” senior Brotherhood member and spokesman Mohammed Mursi told a press conference.

The group has participated in talks with the regime, initiated by Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, but said the dialogue was not proceeding as they had hoped.

“The regime failed but it looks like some people think this dialogue is a monologue,” Mr Mursi said.

• The US warned governments in the Middle East to heed signs of popular “discontent” and enact reforms as it pressed Egypt to broaden its dialogue with opposition groups.

Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters he hoped political upheaval in Egypt and Tunisia would serve as a wake-up call for leaders in the region.

“What we have seen take place in Tunisia and Egypt is a spontaneous manifestation of discontent. We have known about these grievances for a long time,” said Mr Gates, a former CIA director and analyst.

“And we have spoken to a number of governments in the region over time about the need to address these concerns,” he said, when asked about a possible ripple effect among US allies.