Political tension drags on between liberal parties and Islamists in Egypt as the country is to draft a new constitution to shape the political system after the fall of ex-President Hosni Mubarak over a year ago.

The newly-elected Constituent Assembly held its first meeting Wednesday and chose People's Assembly Speaker Saad el-Katatni as its chairman, with the absence of around 20 members mainly from liberal and secular parties, who protested against the domination of Islamists in the body.

The fresh tension also came two months before the presidential vote slated for May 23-24.

The People's Assembly (lower house of the parliament) and the Shura Council (the upper house) held on Saturday a joint meeting to choose the 100-member assembly. The Freedom and Justice Party ( FJP) and the Salafist Nour Party jointly contributed 58 members to the assembly, according to the Daily News Egypt.

In an explanatory statement issued on Tuesday, the FJP said its representation did not exceed 30 percent of the Constituent Assembly. The proportion of representation, namely 50 members from the parliament and 50 from the outside, was voted for by a majority of 86 percent at a joint meeting of two houses on March 17.

The liberal and leftist parties slammed the Islamists who dominate the assembly, accusing them of ignoring the proposals submitted by the minority in the parliament.

The parties called for public actions to cancel the decision of forming the Constituent Assembly until fair standards are established to select the members. Lawsuits were also filed to the administrative court, who will issue a decision on this dispute soon.

Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Hussein Tantawi on Tuesday held a meeting with leaders of 18 parties, including the FJP, the Nour, the Wafd and the Free Egyptians Party, urging an agreement to be reached. But no tangible progress has been seen to solve the impasse until now.

Suez Canal University Professor Gamal Zahran said the Islamists were stubborn and would neglect those forces who pulled out, which would increase their "isolation amid the political circles."

Zahran said he could not predict the results of the crisis, but all relevant parties should negotiate.

"The constituent assembly lacks technical elements. The parliamentarians seek to achieve gains and develop interests," said Noha Bakr, a political analyst.

Bakr said that there should be a technical committee to put the basis of the constitution. "This committee should include law men, professors in the political systems, and professors of constitution."

"The parliament should understand this is a transition period, a new page and a new constitution should be set. We need a constitution which can live for decades, not a temporary one," she said.

The division over the constituent assembly may lead to more protests, Bakr predicted. "It is possible this constituent assembly will bring a weak constitution which will live for a very short time."

Saed Lawendy, political expert with the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said those members who pulled out from the assembly objected an Islamic state.

"If the constitution is written by a body dominated by Islamists, it means that Egypt will be an Islamic state for ever," said Lawendy. "The constitution isn't written for a specific period of time, but for many decades."

"We are facing a real recession while we are close to the end of the transitional period, such a crisis may trigger a series of demonstrations, further setting back the production wheel," he said.