President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday said Egypt's referendum on a new constitution was held with total "transparency and under the full supervision of civil society and the judiciary" and urged all parties to join him in a national dialogue.
"I reiterate my call for all political parties and forces to engage in dialogue," Morsi said in a televised address to the Egyptian people after signing the new charter into law.
"There were several mistakes and gaps, but God knows that any decision I take is for the sake of God and the country," he added.
The constitution, drafted by an Islamist-led panel, was approved by 63.8 per cent of the votes cast in a two-round referendum held this month, according to official results announced Tuesday.
Morsi's opponents say that the new charter is too Islamist and does not reflect the goal of the revolution which overthrew former president Hosny Mubarak. Only 33 per cent of the electorate turned out for the vote.
The president said he welcomed those who had said "no" in the referendum and assured the Egyptian people that the country would not return to a time "when there was one opinion."
"We all reject violence and the violation of laws and we stress that the January 25 revolution gave a great example to the entire world about the peaceful nature of revolutionary and political action and its high level of ethics," the Egyptian president said.
Morsi lashed out at those who "did not differentiate between the freedom of peaceful expression and resorting to violence and the attempt to impose a certain viewpoint, paralyze state institutions and terrorize citizens."
The Egyptian president also said that tackling the ailing economy would be his priority.
"I will deploy all my efforts to boosting the Egyptian economy, which faces enormous challenges," he said.
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's this week cut Egypt's long-term rating to B-, while the Egyptian pound fell to the lowest rate against the dollar in eight years on Wednesday, over fears the government would not implement tax rises and spending cuts.
Earlier Wednesday, 90 members of Egypt's 270-strong Shura Council, or upper house of parliament, took the constitutional oath at the start of a session marking the body's temporary legislative authority.
The newly adopted constitution allows the Shura Council to exercise legislative powers, which had temporarily been vested in the presidency, until a new lower house is elected.
The 90 members of the council, appointed by Morsi, join the 180 other members of the largely advisory body who were elected earlier in the year. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist allies make up more than 70 per cent of the council.
Morsi took legislative power in August after the Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved the lower house of parliament, stating that it had been elected according to illegal rules.
No specific date has been set yet for the legislative polls, the second since Mubarak was forced to step down almost two years ago. dpa raf mga ar wh hl grj Authors: Ramadan Al-Fatash, Weedah Hamzah