CAIRO: A divisive panel boycotted by liberals and Christians was set on Thursday to vote on a draft new Egyptian constitution, amid mounting protests over President Mohamed Morsi’s assumption of sweeping powers.    

Morsi insisted in a magazine interview on Wednesday that he will surrender his controversial new powers once a new constitution is in place, hoping to assuage the growing anger among people who thought their role in the Arab Spring nearly two years ago would bring a new era of democracy.

Morsi dismissed criticism of his power grab and said that the protests on the streets of Cairo were a positive sign that Egypt is indeed on the path to democracy after overthrowing dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

“The world stage is very difficult. It’s not easy to be on the world stage,” admitted Morsi, who won a cliffhanger election in June, speaking briefly in English at the start of an interview with Time magazine.

“If we had a constitution, then all of what I have said or done last week will stop,” he said, wiping his hands to stress his point. “I hope, when we have a constitution, what I have issued will stop immediately,” he added.

Morsi’s remarks amounted to a plea to the international community for patience after his decision to grant himself sweeping powers until the new constitution is ratified in a referendum.

The Islamist leader just last week gave the constituent assembly an additional two months to complete its work.

But as the top court went on strike over his power grab, the panel wrapped up its deliberations and readied for a vote among its members, Ahmed Darrag, its chief, said.

The official MENA news agency reported that the panel would vote on the draft on Thursday. It will then be put to a referendum.

Anger was exacerbated following the decree by Morsi granting himself sweeping powers and barring the courts from dissolving the panel.

The Supreme Constitutional Court had been due to review the legality of the drafting committee on Sunday, but its fate hangs in the balance amid the constitutional vacuum created by Morsi’s decree.

Human rights groups have criticized the move to rush through the constitution.

“This is not a healthy moment to be pushing through a constitution because this is an extremely divisive moment,” Human Rights Watch Egypt director Heba Morayef told Agence France-Presse.

“Human rights groups have very serious concerns about some of the rights protections in the latest drafts we’ve seen,” she said.

The court’s strike action has put Morsi’s decisions beyond judicial scrutiny and protesters have flocked back to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, epicentee of the protest movement that toppled Mubarak in February 2011.

Tens of thousands protested in the square on Tuesday, in the largest opposition rally, since Morsi’s election in June.

The Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist allies have called their own protest in Tahrir for Saturday.