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Prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has been named as Egypt’s interim prime minister.
Mohamed ElBaradei was appointed following crisis talks led by President Adly Mahmud Mansour – three days after the army removed Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi amid growing nationwide unrest.
The move has in turn triggered mass unrest by supporters of Mohamed Morsi.
Prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has been named as Egypt’s interim prime minister
Mohamed ElBaradei – a former head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog – is expected to be sworn in later on Saturday.
He and other party leaders attended a meeting called by Adly Mahmud Mansour on Saturday.
Mohamed ElBaradei leads an alliance of liberal and left-wing parties, the National Salvation Front.
More than 30 people died and about 1,000 were wounded in Friday’s protests by Islamist supporters of the deposed president.
The Muslim Brotherhood – to which Mohamed Morsi belongs – has said its followers would remain on the streets until he is restored to office.
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At least 12 people have died in Alexandria and three in Cairo in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, reports say.
The violence came after three pro-Morsi demonstrators were killed by security forces in another part of the capital.
Troops later restored calm in Cairo, but nationwide violence left some 26 dead and 318 injured, officials said.
The army removed Mohamed Morsi from power on Wednesday after millions of people protested over his leadership.
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader, is in detention, as are some senior figures of his Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Early on Saturday, state media reported the Brotherhood’s deputy leader Khairat el-Shater had been arrested at his Cairo home on suspicion of incitement to violence.
The Tamarod [Rebel] movement – which organized recent anti-Morsi protests – accused the ousted president of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes most Egyptians, and of failing to tackle economic problems.
The US State Department issued a condemnation of Friday’s violence and called for all leaders to put a stop to any further aggression.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also expressed alarm at the violence, saying that it was for the people of Egypt to determine the way forward – and all people, including women, needed to be part of that process.
Most of those killed during fighting in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, died from gunshot wounds, said Amr Nasr, head of emergency services in the city.
He told the official Mena news agency that 200 people were injured during clashes in Egypt’s second-largest city.
At least 12 people have died in Alexandria and three in Cairo in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi
Earlier, after midday prayers, Islamist supporters of Mohamed Morsi staged a series of marches across Cairo – including outside Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque where tens of thousands massed.
Tensions escalated when a crowd advanced on the nearby headquarters of the Republican Guard, where Mohamed Morsi is believed to be held.
Troops then opened fire on crowds. Three people were killed and dozens wounded, including BBC correspondent Jeremy Bowen whose head was grazed by shotgun pellets.
In the evening, tens of thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood filled the square near the mosque, as well as nearby streets.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader, Mohammed Badie, told the crowd: “We shall stay in the squares until we bring President Morsi back to power.”
He said their protests would remain peaceful and called on the army not to “direct your arms against us”.
Shortly afterwards, the Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters surged across the 6th October Bridge over the Nile river, towards Tahrir Square where anti-Morsi protesters were gathered.
The rival groups hurled fireworks and stones at each other. A car was set on fire and stones and fireworks were thrown.
Late on Friday, tanks arrived at the bridge to separate the clashing protesters and the violence died down.
There were clashes in other parts of Egypt on Friday.
Islamist attacks on the Sinai peninsula left five police and one soldier dead.
One protester was killed in the central city of Assiut, and AFP news agency reported another death in Minya.
In Qina in the south, troops opened fire on pro-Morsi activists trying to storm a security building. At least two people were injured.
Firing was also reported in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya.
Ahead of Friday’s protests, the army command said it would not take “arbitrary measures against any faction or political current” and would guarantee the right to protest, as long as demonstrations did not threaten national security.
“Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are rights guaranteed to everyone, which Egyptians have earned as one of the most important gains of their glorious revolution,” it said.
On Thursday the head of Egypt’s constitutional court, Adly Mahmud Mansour, was sworn in as interim head of state, and he promised to hold elections soon.
On Friday Adly Mahmud Mansour dissolved the upper house – or Shura Council – which had been dominated by Mohamed Morsi supporters and had served as sole legislative body after the lower house was dissolved last year.
Adly Mahmud Mansour also appointed a new intelligence chief, Mohamed Ahmed Farid.
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Adly Mansour, top judge of Egypt’s Constitutional Court, is to be sworn in as interim leader, hours after the army ousted President Mohamed Morsi and put him under house arrest.
Army chief General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi announced the move on Wednesday, in what Mohamed Morsi said was a military coup.
General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader, had “failed to meet the demands of the people”.
The move comes after days of mass rallies against the Islamist president.
Protesters accused him and the Muslim Brotherhood of pursuing an Islamist agenda for the country and of failing to tackle Egypt’s economic problems.
The president had appeared to protesters to be economically out of his depth, and had not given them the reassurances they wanted that he could address rampant poverty.
Mohamed Morsi’s opponents celebrated through the night in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, as the army announced it had suspended the constitution and pledged to hold new elections.
But clashes erupted overnight between Mohamed Morsi supporters and the security forces in Cairo and Alexandria, leaving seven protestors dead. A further 10 deaths have been reported in confrontations in other parts of the country.
Gehad el-Haddad, a spokesman for Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, said the ousted leader had been put under house arrest and the “entire presidential team” was in detention.
His father, senior Morsi aide Essam el-Haddad, and Saad al-Katatni, head of the Brotherhood’s political wing, are among those held.
The state-run al-Ahram newspaper reported that arrest warrants had been issued for 300 leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Adly Mansour, top judge of Egypt’s Constitutional Court, was sworn in as interim leader
US President Barack Obama has said he is “deeply concerned” by the latest turn of events and called for a swift return to civilian rule.
The removal of the president followed four days of mass protests against Mohamed Morsi and an ultimatum issued by the military, which expired on Wednesday afternoon.
In his televised speech, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the armed forces could ignore the call of the Egyptian masses.
He spoke of a new roadmap for the future, and said Adly Mansour would be given the task of “running the country’s affairs during the transitional period until the election of a new president”.
Adly Mansour, currently chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, is scheduled to be sworn in as head of state at around 10:00.
The army moved quickly after General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi ‘s speech, with military vehicles seen fanning out across the capital.
TV stations belonging to the Brotherhood went off air and state news agency Mena said managers at the movement’s Misr25 channel had been arrested.
A notice on Mohamed Morsi’s Facebook page condemned the “military coup”.
The statement asked Egyptian citizens to “abide by the constitution and the law and not to respond to this coup”.
Mohamed Morsi, who had pledged his life to defend constitutional legitimacy, accused the army of “taking only one side”.
In Tahrir Square thousands of anti-Morsi protesters celebrated with fireworks and honking car horns.
One protester, Omar Sherif, told AFP news agency: “It’s a new historical moment. We got rid of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.”
After General Sisi’s address, both Pope Tawadros II – the head of the Coptic Church – and leading opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei made short televised speeches about the new roadmap for Egypt’s future which they had agreed with the army.
Mohammed ElBaradei said the roadmap aimed for national reconciliation and represented a fresh start to the January 2011 revolution.
“This roadmap has been drafted by honorable people who seek the interests, first and foremost, of the country,” added Pope Tawadros.
Opposition leader and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa told AFP that consultations for a government and reconciliation “will start from now”.
Mohamed Morsi became Egypt’s first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair following the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
However his term in office was marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
The mass protests at the weekend that led to the army’s intervention were called by the Tamarod (Rebel) movement, in response to worsening social and economic conditions.
But there has been a growing sense of discontent since last November, when Mohamed Morsi issued a controversial constitutional declaration granting himself extensive powers.
Mohamed Morsi’s moves to entrench Islamic laws and concentrate power in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood also alienated liberals and secularists.
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General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the head of Egypt’s army, has given a TV address, announcing that President Mohamed Morsi is no longer in office.
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the constitution had been suspended and the chief justice of the constitutional court would take on Mohamed Morsi’s powers.
Flanked by religious and opposition leaders, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said Mohamed Morsi had “failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people”.
Anti-Morsi protesters in Cairo gave a huge cheer in response to the speech.
The army’s move to depose the president follows four days of mass street demonstrations against Mohamed Morsi, and an ultimatum issued by the military which expired on Wednesday afternoon.
TV stations belonging to Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood went off air at the end of the speech.
Minutes later, a notice went up on Mohamed Morsi’s Facebook page denouncing the army move as a “military coup”.
The statement asked Egyptian citizens – both civilians and military – to “abide by the constitution and the law and not to respond to this coup”.
The ousted leader’s current whereabouts are unclear.
General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the head of Egypt’s army, has given a TV address, announcing that President Mohamed Morsi is no longer in office
General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said on state TV that the armed forces could not stay silent and blind to the call of the Egyptian masses.
He spoke of a new roadmap for the future, and said that the chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, would be given the task of “running the country’s affairs during the transitional period until the election of a new president”.
After General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s address, both Pope Tawadros II – the head of the Coptic Church – and leading opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei made short televised speeches about the new roadmap for Egypt’s future which they had agreed with the army.
Mohammed ElBaradei said the roadmap aimed for national reconciliation and represented a fresh start to the January 2011 revolution.
“This roadmap has been drafted by honorable people who seek the interests, first and foremost, of the country,” added Pope Tawadros.
The army is currently involved in a show of force, fanning out across Cairo and taking control of the capital.
The tens of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters on the streets of Cairo are now celebrating, with fireworks lighting up the night sky and car drivers honking their horns in excitement.
But Mohamed Morsi supporters elsewhere in the city are reported to have shouted: “No to military rule.”
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Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has rejected the army’s 48-hour ultimatum to resolve the country’s deadly crisis, saying it will only sow confusion.
Mohamed Morsi insists he will continue with his own plans for national reconciliation, a presidential statement said early on Tuesday.
The army has warned it will intervene if the government and its opponents fail to heed “the will of the people”.
However, it denies that the ultimatum amounts to a coup.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s state news agency Mena reported early on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr had submitted his resignation.
If accepted, he would join at least five other ministers who have already reportedly resigned over the political crisis.
On Sunday, millions rallied nationwide, urging the president to step down.
Large protests continued on Monday with activists storming and ransacking Cairo’s Muslim Brotherhood headquarters – the group from which the president hails.
President Mohamed Morsi’s opponents accuse him of putting the Brotherhood’s interests ahead of the country’s as a whole.
He became Egypt’s first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair following the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has rejected the army’s 48-hour ultimatum to resolve the country’s deadly crisis
US President Barack Obama – currently on a tour of Africa – called Mohamed Morsi to encourage him to respond to the protesters’ concerns.
Barack Obama “underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process,” the White House said in a statement”.
In an announcement read out on Egyptian TV, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, defense minister and head of the armed forces, described the protests as an “unprecedented” expression of the popular will.
If the people’s demands were not met, he said, the military would have to take responsibility for a plan for the future.
But while he said the army would not get involved in politics or government, his words were seen by many as a coup in the making.
Noisy celebrations erupted in Cairo as protesters interpreted the army’s ultimatum as spelling the end of Mohamed Morsi’s rule.
Tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters of Tamarod (Rebel) – the opposition movement behind the protests – partied in Cairo’s Tahrir Square late into the night.
Meanwhile senior Brotherhood figure Muhammad al-Biltaji urged Mohamed Morsi supporters to “call their families in all Egyptian governorates and villages to be prepared to take to the streets and fill squares” to support their president.
“Any coup of any sort will only pass over our dead bodies,” he said to a roar from thousands gathered outside the Rab’ah al-Adawiyah mosque in Cairo’s Nasr district.
There were reports of gun clashes between rival factions in the city of Suez, east of the capital, on Monday night.
The army later issued a second statement on its Facebook page emphasizing that it “does not aspire to rule and will not overstep its prescribed role”.
According to Tuesday’s presidential statement, Mohamed Morsi was not consulted ahead of the ultimatum announcement. It said that such action would “cause confusion in the complex national environment”.
Given the inability of politicians from all sides to agree until now, the 48-hour ultimatum makes it unlikely Mohamed Morsi can survive in power.
The opposition movement had given Mohamed Morsi until Tuesday afternoon to step down and call fresh presidential elections, or else face a campaign of civil disobedience.
On Saturday, the group said it had collected more than 22 million signatures – more than a quarter of Egypt’s population – in support.
And on Monday the ministers of tourism, environment, communication, water utilities and legal affairs reportedly resigned in an act of “solidarity with the people’s demand to overthrow the regime”.
But Mohamed Morsi was defiant in an interview published on Sunday, rejecting calls for early presidential elections.
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Egyptian anti-government protesters have stormed the national headquarters of President Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood in the capital, Cairo.
People are reported to have ransacked the building in the eastern Moqattam district and also set it on fire.
Eight people have been killed outside since Sunday, security sources say.
Earlier, the opposition movement behind the protests that saw millions take to the streets across Egypt on Sunday gave Mohamed Morsi until Tuesday to resign.
Tamarod (Rebel) said Mohamed Morsi would face a campaign of civil disobedience if he did not leave power and allow elections to be held.
Protesters across Egypt have accused the president of failing to tackle economic and security problems since being elected a year ago. His supporters have insisted he needs more time.
Millions of people attended demonstrations across the country on Sunday to demand Mohamed Morsi step down.
The crowds seen in Cairo’s Tahrir Square were the biggest since the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
Overnight, protesters threw petrol bombs and rocks at armed guards inside, who retaliated by firing at them.
Anti-government protesters have stormed the national HQ of President Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo
On Monday morning, the protesters stormed the six-storey building and began throwing objects of broken windows. One protester was seen removing the Muslim Brotherhood sign, while an Egyptian flag was flown from a balcony.
A Muslim Brotherhood spokesman blamed the violence on “thugs” and said it would be demanding the police explain why officers had failed to protect the group’s headquarters, according to the Reuters news agency.
Two people inside had been injured by fires before a Brotherhood security detail could evacuate them on Monday morning, he added.
Earlier, Tamarod issued a statement saying the protesters would give Mohamed Morsi until 17:00 on Tuesday to leave power and allow state institutions to prepare for early presidential elections.
Otherwise, people would begin a campaign of “complete civil disobedience”, the group warned.
It urged “state institutions including the army, the police and the judiciary, to clearly side with the popular will as represented by the crowds”.
The group also rejected offers of dialogue from the president.
“There is no way to accept any half measures,” it said.
“There is no alternative other than the peaceful end of power of the Muslim Brotherhood and its representative, Mohamed Morsi.”
On Saturday, Tamarod said it had collected more than 22 million signatures – more than a quarter of Egypt’s population – in support.
But Mohamed Morsi was defiant in an interview published on Sunday, rejecting the opposition calls for early presidential elections.
“If we changed someone in office who [was elected] according to constitutional legitimacy – well, there will be people opposing the new president too, and a week or a month later they will ask him to step down,” he told the Guardian newspaper.
He said he would not tolerate any deviation from constitutional order.
“There is no room for any talk against this constitutional legitimacy. There can be demonstrations and people expressing their opinions,” Mohamed Morsi added.
“But what’s critical in all this is the adoption and application of the constitution. This is the critical point.”
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Tamarud, the Egyptian opposition movement that has led nationwide protests against President Mohammed Morsi, has given him until Tuesday to resign.
A statement issued by Tamarud (Rebel) said President Mohamed Morsi would face a campaign of civil disobedience if he did not leave power and allow elections to be held.
Protesters across Egypt have accused Mohamed Morsi of failing to tackle economic and security problems since being elected a year ago
The group said it had collected more than 22 million signatures in support.
The crowds seen in Tahrir Square in the capital, Cairo, on Sunday were the biggest since the 2011 revolution.
In sporadic outbreaks of violence, at least one person was reported killed in an attack on the headquarters of Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, while four more died in the central province of Assiut.
Protesters across Egypt have accused the president of failing to tackle economic and security problems since being elected a year ago. Mohamed Morsi’s supporters have insisted he needs more time.
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President Mohammed Morsi’s supporters and opponents have staged rival rallies across Egypt but there has been violence in the north.
Tension has risen ahead of a Sunday protest planned by the opposition.
Thousands of Mohamed Morsi supporters rallied outside the main mosque in Cairo’s Nasr district.
At least one person, said by state TV to be a US journalist, was killed in Alexandria as protesters stormed a local Muslim Brotherhood office.
The US embassy said it was trying to confirm the reports.
Dozens more were injured when anti-Morsi protesters and Islamists clashed in the northern city, the second biggest in Egypt.
The office of the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Mohamed Morsi, was set ablaze and birdshot was fired.
The authorities are reported to have called in riot police and army helicopters to try to quell the violence.
A Muslim Brotherhood-funded TV channel said petrol bombs were thrown in another northern area, Sharqia.
At least five people are now reported to have died in northern Egypt in violence linked to the political situation in the past few days.
Security is tight in many areas with troops deployed in Cairo and elsewhere.
Egypt’s leading Muslim authority, the Al-Azhar institute, has issued a statement warning against escalating violence.
“We must be alert lest we slide into a civil war that does not differentiate between supporters and opponents,” it said.
President Mohammed Morsi’s supporters and opponents have staged rival rallies across Egypt
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters are holding “open-ended” rallies before what the opposition bills as big protests on Sunday calling for him to resign. Sunday is the first anniversary of the president’s inauguration.
Thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies massed outside Nasr City’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque on Friday.
They stressed what they see as Mohamed Morsi’s “legitimacy”, rejecting the opposition’s demand for him to resign.
Mohamed Morsi opponents gathered in Tahrir Square, ahead of Sunday’s planned march to the presidential palace, and anti-Morsi protesters began a sit-in outside the building.
Police officers and former military personnel also assembled outside the ministry of defense in Cairo in opposition to Mohamed Morsi’s rule and called for the military to take power again.
The main opposition coalition on Thursday rejected President Mohamed Morsi’s offer of dialogue.
In a statement, the National Salvation Front said it “remained determined to call for an early presidential election”.
“We are confident the Egyptian people will come out in their millions to hold peaceful demonstrations on all of Egypt’s squares and streets to realize their aspirations and to put the 25 January revolution back on track,” it added.
The opposition was referring to the popular uprising in January 2011 which ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The president said divisions threatened to “paralyze” Egypt, in a speech on Wednesday to mark a year in office.
Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt’s first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair.
His first year as president has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
Mohamed Morsi also used his televised address to warn the media not to abuse free speech.
Within hours ripples from the speech could be felt across Egyptian media.
A talk show on the al-Fareen TV channel ended abruptly on Thursday night when the presenter learned he was to be arrested. Host and owner Tawfiq Okasha is accused of spreading false information, and the channel has ceased broadcasting.
Another prominent presenter resigned on air on state-run television in protest at what he called government interference in the editorial content of his programme.
In his speech, Mohamed Morsi defended his performance, admitting errors and promising immediate and radical reforms to address them.
“I was right in some cases, and wrong in other cases,” the president said.
“I have discovered after a year in charge that for the revolution to achieve its goals, it needs radical measures.”
Mohamed Morsi apologized for the fuel shortages that have caused long lines at petrol stations and angered many Egyptians, and also for failing to involve the nation’s youth enough.
But despite his initial conciliatory tone, the speech swiftly moved into a condemnation of those he blamed for Egypt’s problems.
“I took responsibility for a country mired in corruption and was faced with a war to make me fail,” he said, naming several officials he believed wanted to “turn the clock back” to the Mubarak era, including politicians, judges and journalists.
“Political polarization and conflict has reached a stage that threatens our nascent democratic experience and threatens to put the whole nation in a state of paralysis and chaos,” Mohamed Morsi warned.
“The enemies of Egypt have not spared effort in trying to sabotage the democratic experience.”
Mohamed Morsi called on opposition figures to “enter elections if you want to change the government” and criticized them for refusing to take part in a national dialogue.
The head of the army earlier warned it would not allow Egypt to slip into “uncontrollable conflict”.
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An arrest warrant has been issued in Egypt for popular political satirist Bassem Youssef for allegedly insulting Islam and President Mohamed Morsi.
Bassem Youssef has faced several complaints over his show Al Bernameg (The Programme).
The satirist has poked fun at a wide range of figures, from fellow television presenters to well-known Muslim scholars and recently Mohamed Morsi himself.
The case has highlighted worries about press freedoms in Egypt.
An arrest warrant has been issued in Egypt for popular political satirist Bassem Youssef for allegedly insulting Islam and President Mohamed Morsi
The move is also seen as the latest in a string of prosecution actions against opponents of the president and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Earlier this week, Egypt’s top prosecutor ordered the arrest of five political activists, among them a leading blogger, on suspicion of inciting aggression against the Brotherhood.
The prosecutor, Talat Ibrahim, was appointed late last year by the president, after he had sacked his predecessor, Abdel Maguid Mahmoud.
However, a court this week ordered Maguid Mahmoud’s reinstatement, a decision that Talat Ibrahim said on Saturday he would fight.
Many journalists have criticized the Islamist-backed constitution which came into force earlier this year, arguing it does not offer enough guarantees for a free media.
The constitution also sparked protests from opponents who say it favors Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians.
Bassem Youssef is a doctor who shot to fame after winning a large number of followers with his witty lampooning of public figures in amateur videos posted on the internet following the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule in February 2011.
He became a household name when his satirical show – likened to Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show in the US – began to be broadcast three times a week on one of Egypt’s independent satellite stations.
But sketches in which Bassem Youssef portrayed Mohamed Morsi as a pharaoh, calling him “Super Morsi” for holding on to executive and legislative powers, and, separately, putting the president’s image on a pillow and parodying his speeches angered one Islamist lawyer, whose formal complaint resulted in the investigation.
As well as insulting President Mohamed Morsi and Islam, Bassem Youssef is also accused of “spreading false news with the aim of disrupting public order”.
In a statement posted on Bassem Youssef’s Twitter account on Saturday he confirmed the warrant, adding: “I will go to the public prosecutor’s office on Sunday – unless they send me a police car and save me [the bother of] getting there on public transport.”
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Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has called parliamentary elections, starting on April 27 and end in June.
A presidential decree said voting would take place in four regional stages, due to a shortage of election supervisors.
Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement hope the election will put an end to increasingly vocal opposition and street protests, analysts say.
The Islamist-dominated parliament was dissolved last June after judges ruled election laws were unconstitutional.
In the last elections, in January 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party won roughly 40% of the vote.
Egypt is deeply divided between Mohamed Morsi’s Islamist supporters and a liberal-led opposition, and has been wracked by unrest, insecurity and an economic crisis.
Tensions have intensified since an Islamist-backed constitution – criticized for failing to protect key rights – was adopted in December.
Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has called parliamentary elections, starting on April 27 and end in June
Thursday’s decree states voting will take place in:
- Cairo and four other provinces on April 27-28, with a run-off scheduled for May 4-5
- Giza, Alexandria and six other provinces on May 15-16, with a run-off scheduled for May 22-23
- Eight provinces on June 2-3, with a run-off scheduled for June 9-10
- Six provinces on June 19-20, with a run-off on June 26-27
The new People’s Assembly will be invited to convene on July 6, the decree said.
Egyptian police have clashed with protesters gathering in Tahrir Square in capital Cairo ahead of the second anniversary of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power.
President Mohamed Morsi’s opponents plan a rally, accusing the Islamist leader of betraying the revolution.
Mohamed Morsi denies the claim, and has called for “peaceful” celebrations.
An appeals court recently overturned Hosni Mubarak’s life sentence over the deaths of protesters and ordered a retrial.
The 84-year-old former leader remains in detention at a military hospital.
On Thursday evening, police clashed with protesters who tried to remove barriers blocking a road to Tahrir Square.
The clashes continued overnight, as police fired tear gas at demonstrators camping on the square. At least eight people were wounded, officials said.
Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood party has not officially called for its own street rallies. It plans to mark the revolution by launching charitable and social initiatives.
Protesters began converging on Tahrir Square on Friday morning.
One of them, Hanna Abu el-Ghar, said: “We are protesting against the fact that after two years of the revolution, where we asked for bread, freedom and social justice, none of our dreams have come true.”
Egyptian police have clashed with protesters gathering in Tahrir Square in capital Cairo ahead of the second anniversary of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power
The liberal opposition accuses Mohamed Morsi of being autocratic and driving through a new constitution that favors Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians.
Ahead of the planned rally Mohamed El Baradei, a leading opposition figure and former head of the UN atomic agency, said is a statement: “I call on everyone to take part and go out to every place in Egypt to show that the revolution must be completed.”
The government is also being blamed for a deepening economic crisis.
The president has dismissed the opposition’s claims as unfair, instead calling for a national dialogue.
Mohamed Morsi and his supporters accuse their opponents of undermining democracy by failing to respect the Islamists’ victory in elections a year ago.
In a speech on Thursday marking the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, President Mohamed Morsi called on Egyptians to celebrate the anniversary “in a civilized, peaceful way that safeguards our nation, our institutions, our lives”.
Last month, Mohamed Morsi described the new constitution as “historic” and also said that boosting Egypt’s economy was his priority.
The president also admitted that mistakes had been made but insisted he would never make a decision except in the interests of the country.
Egypt’s revolution:
- January 25, 2011: Campaign of mass protests against Hosni Mubarak launched
- February 11, 2011: Hosni Mubarak steps down as president, handing over to the military
- November 2011-January 2012: Parliamentary elections held; Islamists emerge as winners
- June 2, 2012: Hosni Mubarak convicted over killing of protesters and given life sentence
- June 17, 2012: Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi narrowly wins presidential election
- December 15, 2012: Constitution drafted by Islamist-led body approved in referendum
- January 13, 2013: Appeals court orders Hosni Mubarak retrial
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The United States have strongly criticized Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi for anti-Semitic remarks he apparently made before being elected president.
TV footage shows Mohamed Morsi in 2010 referring to Zionists as “bloodsuckers” and “descendants of apes and pigs”.
US officials want the leader to clarify his “deeply offensive” comments, which they say run counter to Middle East peace efforts.
Egypt receives around $1.5 billion in annual US military and economic aid.
The financial support is linked to Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, which the US considers a cornerstone of regional stability.
The controversy erupted after the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translated and released Arabic footage of interviews Mohamed Morsi gave in 2010, as a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In the clip from Palestinian broadcaster Al-Quds TV, Mohamed Morsi referred to Jewish settlers as “occupiers of Palestine” and “warmongers”.
He called for a “military resistance in Palestine against these Zionist criminals assaulting the land of Palestine and Palestinian”.
Mohamed Morsi also denounced the Palestinian Authority, saying it was “created by the Zionists and American enemies for the sole purpose of opposing the will of the Palestinian people.”
The US have strongly criticized Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi for anti-Semitic remarks he apparently made before being elected president
In another interview, Mohamed Morsi urged Egyptians to “nurse our children and grandchildren on hatred”.
The US State Department said the comments should be repudiated.
“We completely reject these statements, as we do with any language that espouses religious hatred,” the department’s spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
“This kind of rhetoric has been used in this region for far too long. It’s counter to the goals of peace.”
The White House called the rhetoric “unacceptable in a democratic Egypt”.
“President Morsi should make clear that he respects people of all faiths,” spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
However, both US officials also highlighted that Mohamed Morsi had shown his commitment to regional peace efforts since taking office in June last year.
The Egyptian leader helped broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after violence flared up in Gaza in November.
And although he has been openly critical of Israel, Mohamed Morsi also pledged to abide by the peace treaty when he was voted into power.
“What he has been doing is supporting that peace treaty, continuing to work with us and with Israel on common goals, including in Gaza,” Victoria Nuland said.
“But we’ll also judge him by what he says.”
Egypt has been a key US ally since it signed the 1979 peace deal as part of the Camp David Accords.
But observers say fears remain that the new leadership might try to renegotiate the treaty.
“As long as peace and justice are not fulfilled for the Palestinians, then the treaty remains unfulfilled,” Mohamed Morsi told the New York Times shortly after winning the election last year.
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More than 60% of voters backed the new Egypt’s constitution in a referendum, although only a third of the electorate voted.
Critics say the new constitution favors Islamists and betrays the revolution.
President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power in February 2011 after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.
After the referendum result was announced on Tuesday, dozens of anti-constitution protesters blocked one of the main bridges in the capital Cairo, setting tyres alight and stopping traffic.
Parliamentary elections must now take place within two months.
The political divisions surrounding the referendum have led to economic uncertainty and a reported rush to buy US dollars.
Currency exchanges in parts of Cairo were said to have run out of dollars. Before the result was announced, the authorities declared a limit of $10,000 for travelers into and out of Egypt.
On Monday, Egypt’s central bank issued a statement saying that the banks had “stable liquidity” to safeguard all deposits.
President Mohamed Morsi’s government will soon have to take some unpopular measures to prop up the economy, which could hurt his party at the ballot box.
On Tuesday, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie welcomed the referendum’s results, tweeting: “Congratulations to the Egyptian people on approving the constitution of revolutionary Egypt.”
Echoing his words, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil stressed that there was “no loser” in the vote and called for co-operation with the government to restore the economy.
More than 60 percent of voters backed the new Egypt’s constitution in a referendum, although only a third of the electorate voted
President Mohamed Morsi’s mainly Islamist supporters say that the new constitution will secure democracy and encourage stability.
But opponents accuse the president, who belongs to the Brotherhood, of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians, who make up about 10% of the population.
The US state department responded to the vote by urging all sides in Egypt to commit themselves “to engage in an inclusive process to negotiate their differences”.
In a direct appeal to President Mohamed Morsi, spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that as democratically elected leader he had a “special responsibility… to bridge divisions, build trust and broaden support for the political process”.
Turnout was 32.9% of Egypt’s total of 52 million voters, election commission President Samir Abul Maati told a news conference in Cairo.
Samir Abul Maati rejected opposition allegations that fake judges supervised some of the polling – one of several complaints relating to voting fraud made by the opposition National Salvation Front after each stage of voting.
Egypt has recently seen large demonstrations by both critics and supporters of the constitution, which have occasionally turned violent.
Before the first round of voting on December 15, the opposition considered boycotting the referendum before deciding to back a No vote.
Polling had to be held on two days because of a lack of judges prepared to supervise the process.
Egypt referendum result:
- Votes for constitution 10,693,911 (63.8%)
- Votes against 6,061,101 (36.2%)
- Turnout 32.9% (17,058,317 votes including 303,395 declared invalid)
Source: Egyptian election commission
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Egypt’s National Salvation Front has demanded an inquiry into the referendum on the draft constitution, citing fraud.
The National Salvation Front, Egypt’s main opposition, urged the election commission to investigate the “irregularities”.
Initial unofficial results indicate a “Yes” vote for a document which President Mohamed Morsi says will safeguard democracy.
The opposition says the constitution favors Islamists, and the referendum has highlighted bitter divisions.
The result is expected to be officially announced on Monday.
If the constitution passes, elections must take place within three months. In the meantime, legislative powers would remain with Mohamed Morsi.
State media reports of the results following Saturday’s second and final round of the referendum suggest that some 63% of voters had backed the charter. Turnout was estimated at 30%.
But the National Salvation Front said on Sunday the vote had been marred by “fraud and violations”.
These included polling stations opening late and Islamists seeking to influence voters, the opposition said.
Egypt’s National Salvation Front has demanded an inquiry into the referendum on the draft constitution, citing fraud
Spokesman Amr Hamzawy told a news conference in Cairo: “We are asking the commission to investigate the irregularities before announcing official results.”
Another spokesman, Khaled Daoud, said the Front would not contest the result, which it believed would be a “Yes”, but he said there was “serious fraud”.
The Front has complained that there was not enough legal supervision of the referendum – many judges had announced a boycott.
The opposition said before the referendum that its campaign would continue in the wake of a “Yes” vote.
Front member Abdel Ghaffer Shokr told Agence France-Presse on Sunday: “The referendum is not the end of the road. It is only one battle. We will continue the fight for the Egyptian people.”
But the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, said it hoped the “Yes” vote would begin to heal divisions and bring stability.
Opponents have said the draft constitution fails to protect the freedoms and human rights that they sought in the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule last year.
They accuse the president of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians, who make up about 10% of the population.
President Mohamed Morsi’s mainly Islamist supporters say the constitution will secure democracy and encourage stability.
The latest unrest began after Mohamed Morsi issued a decree on November 22 stripping the judiciary of the power to challenge his decisions.
After an outcry, the president revoked much of the decree, but he refused to back down on the draft constitution.
The text was rushed through by a constituent assembly dominated by Islamists.
Egypt has seen large demonstrations by both sides, which have occasionally turned violent, ever since.
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According to unofficial and preliminary results, Egyptians appear to have approved the controversial new constitution in a referendum.
Results reported by Egyptian state media suggest that some 63% backed the charter over two rounds of voting.
Critics say the document, which has triggered mass protests, betrays the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
President Mohamed Morsi’s mainly Islamist supporters say it will secure democracy and encourage stability.
Official results are not expected until Monday, after appeals are heard. If the constitution passes, parliamentary elections must take place within three months.
Turnout was put at about 30%. The opposition said voting in both rounds of voting had been marred by abuses.
Violations in the second round on Saturday ranged from polling stations opening late to Islamists seeking to influence voters, the opposition said.
On Saturday, ballots were being cast in the 17 provinces that did not vote in the first round on December 15. Some 25 million people were eligible to vote.
The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement said early on Sunday that, with most votes counted, more than 70% were in favor.
The opposition National Salvation Front also said the “yes” vote appeared to have won.
In the first round, on December 15, turnout was reported to be just above 30% with unofficial counts suggesting some 56% of those who cast ballots voted in favor of the draft.
Opponents have said the draft constitution fails to protect the freedoms and human rights that they sought in the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule last year.
They accuse the president of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians, who make up about 10% of the population.
Egypt’s official state news agency Mena said that at least two judges had been removed for encouraging voters to cast “yes” ballots.
According to unofficial and preliminary results, Egyptians appear to have approved the controversial new constitution in a referendum
One Egyptian, 19-year-old law student Ahmed Mohammed, said he voted “yes” because Egypt “needs a constitution to be stable”.
But at the same polling station in Giza, south-west of the capital, 50-year-old housewife, Zarifa Abdul Aziz, said: “I will vote <<no>> a thousand times. I am not comfortable with the Brotherhood and all that it is doing.”
As voting took place on Saturday, the country’s Vice-President Mahmoud Mekki announced his resignation.
Mahmoud Mekki, a former judge who was appointed vice-president in August, said the “nature of politics” did not suit his professional background.
Over the past month, seven of President Mohamed Morsi’s 17 top advisers have resigned.
Mahmoud Mekki said he had tried to resign on November 7, but his decision had been delayed by the Israeli conflict in Gaza and President Mohamed Morsi’s controversial decree on November 22 granting himself sweeping new powers.
His resignation statement indicated he had no prior knowledge of the decree, which stripped the judiciary of powers to question the president’s decisions.
After an outcry, the president revoked much of the November 22 decree, but he refused to back down on the draft constitution.
The text was rushed through by a constituent assembly dominated by Islamists and boycotted by liberal and left-wing members, and facing a threat of dissolution by the country’s top court.
Egypt has seen large demonstrations by both sides, which have occasionally turned violent, ever since.
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Egypt begins voting in a second stage of a constitutional referendum that has sparked weeks of unrest in the country’s main cities.
Opponents of President Mohamed Morsi have held protests against the draft, saying it favors the Islamists now in power and betrays the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak last year.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters say the constitution will secure democracy.
Some 250,000 security personnel have been deployed nationwide to try to keep order during the referendum.
Tension over the document has helped to fuel weeks of violence, including clashes in Alexandria on Friday.
Turnout was reported to be just above 30% in the first round, with unofficial counts suggesting some 56% of those who cast ballots voted in favor of the draft.
Official results are not expected until Monday, after appeals are heard. If the constitution passes, parliamentary elections must take place within three months.
Ballots are being cast in the 17 provinces which did not vote in a first round on December 15.
The areas are seen as more conservative and sympathetic to Mohamed Morsi’s Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Analysts suggest this will favor a “Yes” vote.
“I’m voting <<No>> because Egypt can’t be ruled by one faction,” Karim Nahas, a 35-year-old stock market broker voting early on Saturday in Giza, told Reuters news agency.
Egyptians casting votes in favor of the charter said they were voting for stability.
Opponents of the draft say it fails to protect the freedoms and human rights that they sought in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
Human Rights Watch says the draft provides for basic protections against arbitrary detention and torture, but fails to end military trials of civilians or to protect freedom of expression and religion.
Ahead of the second round, opposition politicians said they thought further violence was likely.
“I see more unrest,” said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a member of the opposition coalition.
He said there had been “serious violations” on the first day of voting and that anger towards the president was growing.
Opposition figurehead Mohammed ElBaradei has urged people to vote against the charter.
“We know that if this constitution is passed, there will be no stability,” he said late on Thursday.
Egypt’s latest crisis began on November 22, when Mohamed Morsi issued a decree granting himself broad powers.
The decree stripped the judiciary of any power to challenge his decisions.
After an outcry, the president revoked much of the decree, but he refused to back down on the draft constitution.
The text was rushed through by a constituent assembly dominated by Islamists and boycotted by liberal and left-wing members, as it faced a threat of dissolution by the country’s top court.
Egypt has seen mass demonstrations on both sides ever since.
On Friday, Islamists clashed with secular rivals in Alexandria, hurling stones at each other outside a mosque.
Police formed lines and fired tear gas to keep the two groups apart.
The state news agency Mena quoted the health ministry as saying that 32 people had been injured.
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Egyptians have begun voting on a new constitution endorsed by the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, which has divided the country and sparked deadly unrest.
President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have campaigned heavily in favor of the draft document, which may define Egypt for years to come.
Opponents say it is poorly drafted and overly favors Islamists.
The opposition National Salvation Front coalition has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to rig the vote.
However, the ballot, which is staggered over Saturday and a second day of voting in a week’s time, appears to be going smoothly with indications of a high turnout.
Many people said they were voting for the restoration of stability in Egypt.
Saturday’s voting takes place in Cairo, Alexandria and eight other provinces, a week before the rest of the country.
Some 250,000 security personnel have been deployed to safeguard a referendum in which more than 51 million people are registered to vote.
Polling reportedly had to be spread out because few judges were willing to supervise the referendum but human rights groups have expressed fears the results from the first round could sway the opinion of those voting in the second.
Egyptians have begun voting on a new constitution endorsed by the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, which has divided the country and sparked deadly unrest
A constitution must be in place before elections can be held early next year.
Mohamed Morsi was elected president in June with just over half of the vote, more than a year after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in a popular revolt in Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world.
The referendum is more than a vote on obscure clauses – it is about whether Egypt should be an Islamic country or a secular one.
The simple ballot paper just asks if Egyptians support or oppose the new constitution. Supporters include President Mohamed Morsi, who voted near the presidential palace in the Cairo district of Heliopolis, the Muslim Brotherhood and most other Islamists.
Opponents include liberals and others who want a more secular future for Egypt. Some of them say the new constitution would take away some of the new freedoms hard won in last year’s revolution.
Voters interviewed by Reuters news agency in Cairo were hopeful the vote would bring some calm to Egypt.
“I see this as a positive step for the country… a good base that we can start to work from,” said one, Ahmed Gindy.
In the northern port city of Alexandria, where there were clashes on Friday between rival activists fighting with clubs, stones and other weapons, Mohamed Ewais explained why he was voting “No”.
“I cannot accept a constitution with very limited, very limited actually, rights for minorities, rights for women, rights for even children,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
“It’s not suitable for Egypt, actually. We are taking about a country that has been in place for over 210 years as a modern state.”
Outside Cairo the situation has been calm amid high turnout:
- In Alexandria, long queues formed at polling stations and voters complained about the waiting time
- In Mahalla, a city in the Delta that has seen big anti-Morsi demonstrations, polling stations were heaving with people, with heated political discussions outside the voting booths
- In Assiut, Upper Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood is popular, there was tight security from the police and military, including tanks guarding some polling stations
The violence in Alexandria reportedly broke out after a cleric at a mosque urged worshippers to vote “Yes”.
Clashes continued late into the evening, with police firing tear gas, and at least 15 people injured in the fighting.
President Mohamed Morsi has granted the army powers to arrest civilians.
Supporters of the draft constitution have accused the opposition of sowing “lies and discord” about the referendum.
The opposition National Salvation Front had vehemently opposed the referendum but this week said its supporters should go to the ballot boxes to vote “No”.
In a statement on Saturday, it expressed “deep concern… over the number of irregularities and violations in the holding of the referendum”.
This, it alleged, pointed to a “clear desire for vote-rigging by the Muslim Brotherhood”.
However, the Egyptian army’s chief of staff, Gen Sedky Sobhi, said he was satisfied with the situation inside and outside polling stations.
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President Mohamed Morsi has ordered the military to maintain security and protect Egypt institutions in the run-up to a controversial referendum on a new constitution.
The army has also been given the power of arrest.
Mohamed Morsi has tried to calm public anger by annulling a decree giving him huge powers, but rejected a call to scrap the 15 December constitutional vote.
Opposition leaders called for protests on Tuesday against the referendum.
The opposition was “not aiming at toppling the president” but wanted a better constitution, said former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.
Islamist groups have said they will hold counter demonstrations, raising fears of further bloody clashes on the streets of the Egyptian capital.
In another apparent concession, the president suspended a big tax increase on the sale of a variety of goods including soft drinks, cigarettes and beer.
The decision was carried in a statement that appeared on Mohamed Morsi’s Facebook page in the early hours of Monday, state-owned al-Ahram newspaper reported.
As tension increased before Saturday’s referendum, Mohamed Morsi ordered the military to maintain security “up to the announcement of the results from the referendum”, AFP news agency reports.
The step will raise fears that Egypt is moving back towards military rule.
Under the new presidential decree, the military is asked to co-ordinate with the police on maintaining security and is also entitled to arrest civilians.
The police have been seen as weakened since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak and failed to intervene when anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters ransacked the Islamist movement’s Cairo headquarters last week, correspondents say.
An increased military presence was visible on Monday close to the presidential palace, which has been the focus of opposition demonstrations. The army has sealed off the area with concrete blocks.
It is not yet clear whether the opposition will boycott Saturday’s referendum. However, a group of senior judges announced on Monday that they would be prepared to oversee the vote, on certain conditions.
Votes in Egypt are traditionally supervised by the judiciary but the November 22nd presidential decree led thousands of judges to go on strike.
Mohamed Morsi has ordered the military to maintain security and protect Egypt institutions in the run-up to a controversial referendum on a new constitution
Now, with the decree rescinded, the State Council Judges’ Club has agreed to oversee the vote as long as pro-Morsi supporters call a halt to a sit-in outside Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court.
The court suspended work on 2 December, citing “psychological pressure” from Islamists who had prevented a meeting on a draft of the new constitution. The protesters had wanted to block a ruling on the legality of the document.
The opposition argues that the constitution was drafted by an assembly dominated by Mohammed Morsi’s Islamist allies.
In a statement after talks on Sunday, the opposition National Salvation Front said it would not recognize the draft constitution “because it does not represent the Egyptian people”.
“We reject the referendum which will certainly lead to more division and sedition,” spokesman Sameh Ashour said.
On Sunday, hundreds of opposition protesters protested against the referendum outside the presidential palace.
They chanted anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans and held up banners reading slogans such as “Morsi, hold back your thugs” and “The people demand the fall of the regime”.
But Mohamed Soudan, foreign relations secretary of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, said Mohamed Morsi was constitutionally bound to go ahead with the vote because the date had been announced by the constituent assembly.
The president says he is trying to safeguard the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak last year, but his critics accuse him of acting like a dictator.
Mohamed Morsi’s decree of 22 November stripped the judiciary of any right to challenge his decisions and triggered violent protests.
Although the decree has been annulled, some decisions taken under it still stand.
The general prosecutor, who was dismissed, will not be reinstated, and the retrial of former regime officials will go ahead.
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Egypt’s Judges’ Club has refused to oversee a referendum on the country’s new draft constitution, to be held in two weeks.
The Judges’ Club’s decision follows a confrontation between Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court and Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi.
The court said it was suspending its work after its members were prevented from ruling on the legitimacy of the body that drew up the constitution.
Opposition groups called for protests against the referendum on Tuesday.
They said Mohammed Morsi had broken a promise not to call a referendum without gaining a wide national consensus.
“The National Salvation Front condemns the irresponsible act by the president of the republic in calling a referendum on an illegitimate constitution that is rejected by a large section of his people,” an alliance of opposition groups said in a statement.
The opposition believes that the draft constitution undermines basic freedoms.
The latest developments heighten the tensions between President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters on one side, and his mainly secular political opponents and the judiciary on the other.
Hours after the Supreme Constitutional Court suspended its work, the Judges’ Club, the union which represents the profession nationwide, said it had turned down the judges’ traditional role of electoral oversight for the referendum.
“We have decided to boycott the supervision of the referendum on the constitution scheduled for December 15, 2012,” the club’s head Ahmed al-Zind announced.
“This protest is in response to what is being called the ‘constitutional decree’ and until this decree is rescinded.”
Correspondents say the club’s decisions are not binding on members, and Vice-President Mahmoud Mekky said he was confident judges would do their job.
The Supreme Constitutional Court had earlier described Sunday as “the blackest day in the history of Egyptian judiciary” after its judges were prevented from attending a meeting by Islamist protesters.
The court had been scheduled to rule on whether to dissolve both the constituent assembly that passed the draft constitution and the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, the Shura Council.
Supporters of President Mohammed Morsi wanted to block any ruling that would question the document’s legality.
Mohammed Morsi adopted sweeping new powers in a decree on November 22nd that stripped the judiciary of any power to challenge his decisions, so it is unclear what effect any Supreme Constitutional Court ruling would have had.
However, analysts say any ruling opposing his decisions would be a direct challenge and would bolster the opposition campaign to have his decree annulled.
The president’s supporters are wary of the court, as it dissolved an Islamist-dominated lower house of parliament in an earlier confrontation in June.
The draft constitution was rushed through the constituent assembly on Thursday night.
After receiving a copy of the document on Saturday, Mohammed Morsi called on “all Egyptians” to take part in the referendum, whether or not they agreed with the draft.
The draft constitution and the recent decree have prompted widespread protests by opponents.
Many anti-government activists remain camped out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
If approved, the new text will overwrite all constitutional declarations – including Mohammed Morsi’s decree – and a new parliament should be elected within 60 days.
Among the historic changes to Egypt’s system of government, the draft limits a president to two four-year terms. It also introduces some civilian oversight of the military.
The draft keeps in place an article defining “principles of Sharia”, or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation.
Mohammed Morsi’s supporters point to the fact that he is Egypt’s first freely elected president and argue that liberals and secularists do not represent the vast majority of Egyptians.
But the extent of Mohammed Morsi’s new powers has raised fears that he might become a new dictator.
The Judges’ Club’s decision follows a confrontation between Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court and Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi.
The court said it was suspending its work after its members were prevented from ruling on the legitimacy of the body that drew up the constitution.
Opposition groups called for protests against the referendum on Tuesday.
They said Mohammed Morsi had broken a promise not to call a referendum without gaining a wide national consensus.
“The National Salvation Front condemns the irresponsible act by the president of the republic in calling a referendum on an illegitimate constitution that is rejected by a large section of his people,” an alliance of opposition groups said in a statement.
The opposition believes that the draft constitution undermines basic freedoms.
The latest developments heighten the tensions between President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters on one side, and his mainly secular political opponents and the judiciary on the other.
Hours after the Supreme Constitutional Court suspended its work, the Judges’ Club, the union which represents the profession nationwide, said it had turned down the judges’ traditional role of electoral oversight for the referendum.
“We have decided to boycott the supervision of the referendum on the constitution scheduled for December 15, 2012,” the club’s head Ahmed al-Zind announced.
“This protest is in response to what is being called the ‘constitutional decree’ and until this decree is rescinded.”
Correspondents say the club’s decisions are not binding on members, and Vice-President Mahmoud Mekky said he was confident judges would do their job.
The Supreme Constitutional Court had earlier described Sunday as “the blackest day in the history of Egyptian judiciary” after its judges were prevented from attending a meeting by Islamist protesters.
The court had been scheduled to rule on whether to dissolve both the constituent assembly that passed the draft constitution and the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, the Shura Council.
Supporters of President Mohammed Morsi wanted to block any ruling that would question the document’s legality.
Mohammed Morsi adopted sweeping new powers in a decree on November 22nd that stripped the judiciary of any power to challenge his decisions, so it is unclear what effect any Supreme Constitutional Court ruling would have had.
However, analysts say any ruling opposing his decisions would be a direct challenge and would bolster the opposition campaign to have his decree annulled.
The president’s supporters are wary of the court, as it dissolved an Islamist-dominated lower house of parliament in an earlier confrontation in June.
The draft constitution was rushed through the constituent assembly on Thursday night.
After receiving a copy of the document on Saturday, Mohammed Morsi called on “all Egyptians” to take part in the referendum, whether or not they agreed with the draft.
The draft constitution and the recent decree have prompted widespread protests by opponents.
Many anti-government activists remain camped out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
If approved, the new text will overwrite all constitutional declarations – including Mohammed Morsi’s decree – and a new parliament should be elected within 60 days.
Among the historic changes to Egypt’s system of government, the draft limits a president to two four-year terms. It also introduces some civilian oversight of the military.
The draft keeps in place an article defining “principles of Sharia”, or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation.
Mohammed Morsi’s supporters point to the fact that he is Egypt’s first freely elected president and argue that liberals and secularists do not represent the vast majority of Egyptians.
But the extent of Mohammed Morsi’s new powers has raised fears that he might become a new dictator.
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Egypt’s Islamist-run assembly has backed a draft constitution, including a measure keeping sharia, or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation.
The draft will now be sent to President Mohammed Morsi, who is expected to call a referendum on the issue.
The move comes after the constitutional court said it would rule on Sunday whether to dissolve the assembly.
Egypt’s judiciary is in a stand-off with the president after he granted himself sweeping new powers.
Egypt has been gripped by protests since the decree was issued last week – more demonstrations are planned for later on Friday.
Mohammed Morsi says his decree should only apply for as short a time as possible.
Liberal, left-wing and Christian members of the constitutional assembly boycotted the vote, accusing the Islamists of trying to impose their vision.
The assembly backed all the 234 articles of the draft after a marathon session that began on Thursday and continued through the night.
Its aim was clearly to pre-empt any challenge by the courts, which are in a confrontation with Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood which backs him.
According to Egyptian state TV, the articles passed stipulate that Islam is the religion of the state, and the principles of sharia are the “main source of legislation”.
This is unchanged from the previous constitution under Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled as president last year.
Salafists and some members of the Muslim Brotherhood failed to have “principles” replaced by “rules”.
The draft also says that Christianity and Judaism will be the “main source of legislation” for Egyptian Christians and Jews, state TV reported.
The assembly also adopted a new article that al-Azhar mosque and university, authorities on Sunni Muslim jurisprudence, must be consulted on “matters related to sharia”.
The president will be limited to two four-year terms of office.
The opponents of the draft voiced concern that some clauses – such as the importance of promoting family values – could be used to restrict freedom of speech.
They also said that there was no specific article establishing equality between men and women.
Opposition figure and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa told Reuters news agency: “This is nonsensical and one of the steps that shouldn’t be taken, given the background of anger and resentment to the current constitutional assembly.”
Another opposition leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, said the document would be consigned to the “garbage bin of history”, and would only sharpen the current divisions in Egypt.
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Tens of thousands of people are holding a protest in Cairo against President Mohamed Morsi, who last week granted himself sweeping new powers in Egypt.
Flag-waving demonstrators are chanting slogans accusing the president and the Muslim Brotherhood of betraying last year’s revolution.
On Monday Mohamed Morsi sought to defuse the crisis by saying the decree granting him new powers was limited in scope.
However, his opponents want him to withdraw the measure completely.
Ahead of Tuesday’s rally, opposition activists clashed with police. A protester, who was in his fifties, died of a heart attack after inhaling tear gas.
Activists later converged on Tahrir Square – the main focus of the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak – for one of the largest demonstrations to date against Mohamed Morsi.
“The people want to bring down the regime,” marchers chanted, echoing slogans used in last year’s protests.
“We don’t want a dictatorship again. The Mubarak regime was a dictatorship. We had a revolution to have justice and freedom,” protester Ahmed Husseini was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Journalists, lawyers as well as opposition figures including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammed ElBaradei were expected to join Tuesday’s rally.
Protests are also being held in Alexandria and other cities.
The president’s decree, known as the constitutional declaration, said no authority could revoke his decisions.
There is a bar on judges dissolving the assembly drawing up a new constitution. The president is also authorized to take any measures to preserve the revolution, national unity or safeguard national security.
Critics say the decree is an attack on the judiciary. It has sparked violent protests across the country.
On Monday Mohamed Morsi told senior judges that the scope of the measure would be restricted to “sovereign matters”, designed to protect institutions.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which supports President Mohamed Morsi, said it was postponing its own demonstration, originally due on Tuesday, to avoid “public tension”.
The postponement is another sign that the government wants to defuse confrontation, but it remains to be seen whether it ends the days of angry and sometimes violent protests.
Egypt’s union of judges, known as the Judges Club, rejected the president’s statement, calling it “worthless” and said they would continue to suspend work in courts.
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Egypt’s stock market sees a plunge in its shares of almost 10% on Sunday, days after President Mohammed Mursi granted himself sweeping new powers.
Protests against Mohammed Mursi’s decision have continued in Cairo, while the Muslim Brotherhood is planning rallies backing him later.
Trading was suspended for 30 minutes as shares slumped in the first session since the president’s announcement.
But the slide continued as soon as share dealing resumed.
Renewed clashes broke out in Cairo on Sunday morning between protesters and security forces in a street leading to Tahrir Square. Trails of tear gas could be seen in the square itself.
Stones were thrown close to the US embassy, but because concrete blocks had been erected in the area the situation was less tense than before, Mena news agency reported.
The barriers had been put up to secure key Egyptian government and parliamentary buildings, Mena added.
According to President Mohammed Mursi’s decree, announced on Thursday, no authority can revoke presidential decisions.
There is also a bar on judges dissolving the assembly which is drawing up a new constitution.
Mohammed Mursi sacked chief prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, who was first appointed by ex-president Hosni Mubarak.
Maguid Mahmoud’s replacement, Talaat Ibrahim, has been given the job of re-examining all investigations into the deaths of protesters when Hosni Mubarak was in power.
Egypt’s judges denounced the decree on Saturday as an “unprecedented attack” on the judiciary, and the Judges’ Club that represents them called for “the suspension of work in all courts and prosecution administrations”.
Twenty-two rights groups signed an open letter which said the president “has dealt a lethal blow to the Egyptian judiciary” and demanded that the decree should be revoked immediately.
Egypt’s stock market sees a plunge in its shares after President Mohammed Mursi granted himself sweeping new powers
Opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei had earlier complained that the president had “usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh”.
But the president’s measures have also prompted his supporters to come out on to the streets and there were clashes on Saturday as pro-Mursi demonstrators tried to disrupt an emergency Judges Club meeting.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Mohammed Mursi’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) party, has called for further demonstrations in support of the decree after sunset.
The Islamist movement has called for a one-million-man march to be held at Abdin Square on Tuesday.
President Mohammed Mursi’s decree:
- All investigations into killing of protesters or use of violence against them to be held again; trials of those accused also to be re-held
- All constitutional declarations, laws and decrees made since Mohammed Mursi assumed power cannot be appealed or cancelled
- Public prosecutor to be appointed by president for 4-year fixed term and aged at least 40
- Constituent assembly’s timeline for drafting new constitution extended by two months
- No judicial authority can dissolve constituent assembly or upper house of parliament (Shura Council)
- President authorized to take any measures to preserve revolution, national unity or safeguard national security
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Egypt’s top judges have accused President Mohammed Mursi of staging an “unprecedented attack” on the judiciary.
Mohammed Mursi passed a decree earlier this week granting himself extensive new powers.
It includes a bar on any court dissolving the constituent assembly, which is drawing up a new constitution.
Thursday’s decree has sparked angry demonstrations, with attacks on offices of Mohammed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood party.
The president has said he is acting to protect the revolution.
In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council called on Mohammed Mursi to “this decree from everything that violates the judicial authority,” Mena state news agency reported.
There had been reports that the council was about to disband the constituent assembly for a second time.
Egypt’s top judges have accused President Mohammed Mursi of staging an unprecedented attack on the judiciary
That could seriously derail the transition to democracy, says our correspondent, further delaying new parliamentary elections, which could deter Egypt’s political leaders from taking tough decisions while they wait for the vote.
Mohammed Mursi also sacked his prosecutor general on Thursday and gave himself the sole power to appoint a new one.
His replacement moved quickly to reopen criminal investigations into ousted President Hosni Mubarak, his family, and former regime officials.
It is likely to be a popular move, as although Mubarak is serving a long jail term for ordering the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising, many officials were acquitted, creating deep resentments.
The ruling also bans any challenging of the president’s decisions and laws.
Both critics and supporters of Mohammed Mursi have staged rallies since the decree. Overnight, crowds gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, vowing to stage a sit-in.
A large opposition rally is also planned for Tuesday.
The US said earlier that Mohammed Mursi’s move had raised concerns in the international community.
Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi has appeared before supporters in Cairo to defend a new decree that grants him sweeping powers.
Mohammed Mursi told them he was leading Egypt on a path to “freedom and democracy” and was the guardian of stability.
He was speaking as thousands of opponents gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and offices of the president’s party were attacked in several cities.
The decree says presidential decisions cannot be revoked by any authority.
Speaking at a rally at the presidential palace in Cairo, Mohammed Mursi said he was working to secure a strong and stable nation, for which there was a “great future”.
He said: “I am for all Egyptians. I will not be biased against any son of Egypt.”
Mohammed Mursi said he was the guardian of political, economic and social stability and wanted to see a “genuine opposition, a strong opposition”.
“I am the guarantor of that and I will protect for my brothers in the opposition all their rights so they can exercise their role.”
Mohammed Mursi also vowed to defend the independence of the executive, judiciary and legislature and not issue decrees to settle scores.
But across the capital in Tahrir Square, thousands of the president’s opponents heeded calls to demonstrate against the decree.
Chants of “Mursi is Mubarak… revolution everywhere” rang out.
There were clashes between protesters and police in the square, with tear gas fired at demonstrators and Molotov cocktails thrown in return.
Mohammed Mursi has appeared before supporters in Cairo to defend a new decree that grants him sweeping powers
According to Egypt’s state-run news agency, Mena, three people were injured in violence in Cairo’s central Mohammed Mahmoud street.
Offices of the president’s Muslim Brotherhood party have reportedly been attacked in the cities of Port Said and Ismailia.
Clashes between rival demonstrations took place in Alexandria.
Protesters in the Mediterranean city stormed the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, throwing out books and chairs, and starting a fire.
Up to 2,000 demonstrators stormed the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Suez, while hundreds of people also protested against the new decree in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
In a joint news conference on Thursday, Sameh Ashour, head of a lawyers association, and key opposition figures Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa accused Mohammed Mursi of “monopolizing all three branches of government” and overseeing “the total execution of the independence of the judiciary”.
Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote on his Twitter account that the president had “appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh. A major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences”.
US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Friday that the decree had “raised concerns” in the international community, because Egypt’s revolution “was to ensure that power would not be overly concentrated in the hands of any one person or institution”.
She said the US wanted “democratic dialogue” within Egypt to solve constitutional issues.
The new decree bans challenges to Mohammed Mursi’s laws and decisions, and says no court can dissolve the constituent assembly, which is drawing up a new constitution.
It also opens the way for a retrial of people convicted of killings during Egypt’s 2011 uprising which toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
The declaration also gives the 100-member constituent assembly two additional months to draft a new constitution, to replace the one suspended after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.
The rewrite of the constitution, which was meant to be finished by December, has been plagued by lawsuits questioning the make-up of the constituent assembly.
Once completed, the document is due to be put to a referendum. If it is approved, legislative elections will be held two months later.
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Egypt has promised to support Gaza against Israeli attacks, as violence escalated for a third day.
President Mohammed Mursi said he would not leave Gaza on its own and condemned Israel’s “blatant aggression”, hours after his prime minister visited Gaza.
Israel mounted a huge attack overnight, targeting dozens of locations. Later, Gaza militants targeted Tel Aviv with a missile but there were no casualties.
Twenty Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed since Wednesday.
Militants and civilians, including at least five children, were among the Palestinian dead, Palestinian officials said.
Two Israeli women and a man died when a rocket fired from Gaza hit a building in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi on Thursday, Israeli officials said.
The Israeli army began an initial draft of 16,000 reservists on Friday, after the government authorized the call-up of 30,000.
Rumors have been swirling that a ground attack is imminent, but Israeli officials have said no decision has yet been made.
Israel targeted more than 130 locations in an overnight assault it said was aimed at knocking out rocket-firing facilities.
Egypt has promised to support Gaza against Israeli attacks, as violence escalated for a third day
Sporadic Israeli air strikes have continued throughout Friday, and militants in Gaza have fired dozens of rockets.
Mohammed Mursi sent Prime Minister Hisham Qandil to the territory for a three-hour visit on Friday to show solidarity with the Palestinians.
“Egypt will not leave Gaza on its own, and what is happening is a blatant aggression against humanity,” the president said shortly after Hisham Qandil returned from Gaza.
Ties between Hamas and Egypt have strengthened since Mohammed Mursi’s election earlier this year.
Hamas was formed as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mohammed Mursi belongs.
Meanwhile, the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, some 75 km (45 miles) north of Gaza, came under attack for a second day.
A missile launched from Gaza sparked panic in the city and air-raid sirens once again sounded.
The missile appears to have done no harm, with police officials quoted variously as saying it had landed in the sea or in an unpopulated area.
It is the first time Tel Aviv has come under attack since the 1991 Gulf War.
Analysts say it is the first time Gaza militants have deployed such powerful missiles.
Western leaders have appealed for both sides to stop the escalation in violence.
Britain and Germany both said Hamas bears the brunt of the blame and should stop firing rockets immediately.
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