Archive for civilian president

Coptic coalition urges Morsy to treat Egyptians equally

by admin
June 25th, 2012

Members of Egypt’s Copts Coalition on Monday congratulated Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy on his election as the country’s first elected civilian president.

The statement emphasized that Morsy should be a president for all Egyptians and remain neutral toward them, and act independently from the Brotherhood.

The statement said the coalition would remain in the ranks of the opposition to build a better future for Egypt by monitoring Morsy’s actions, adding that they will not obey him if he does not fulfill his pledges.

The statement called on Morsy to preserve the identity of the Egyptian state and its moderate civilian nature, urging him to entrench the principle of full citizenship rights to all Egyptians and to eliminate all forms of discrimination.

The statement also emphasized the need for upholding the country’s sovereignty, particularly in Sinai, and respecting international agreements signed by Egypt and safeguarding rights, especially those of women and minorities.

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Elections commission: Morsy is president

by admin
June 24th, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsy will be Egypt’s next president, the Presidential Elections Commission announced on Sunday.

Morsy will be Egypt's first civilian president since the foundation of the modern republic.

The confirmation of Morsy’s victory comes a week after the run-off vote between Morsy and Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force commander and the last prime minister under deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Morsy claimed a victory early last Monday after voting wrapped up.

It is unclear why the delay occurred but the PEC said that they were examining more than 400 appeals of irregularities during the voting.

The military and the Brotherhood have been in a public conflict in recent days. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has criticized the Morsy campaign for announcing his victory too early, while the Brotherhood have warned against fraud.

Reports have circulated that the Brotherhood was in negotiations with the SCAF over the presidency.

Thousands of Morsy supporters gathered in Tahrir Square ahead of the announcement. They have been holding a sit-in protest there since last Thursday.

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Morsy threatens protest of 30 million people if power transfer is delayed

by admin
May 1st, 2012

Thirty million people will take to the streets if the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces does not hand over power to an elected civilian president by 30 June, said Freedom and Justice Party presidential candidate Mohamed Morsy on Tuesday.

During his meeting with a group of businessmen in Tanta, Gharbiya Governorate, as part of his campaign tour, Morsy said the people “will not allow anyone to marginalize their role, as millions of people in the squares are ready to take to the streets.”

Morsy said he wants the revolution to continue while he is president, explaining that “no president can stand in front of the Egyptian revolution.”

He added that under his rule, the Egyptian army would make its own weapons “so as to prevent anyone from frightening us or affecting our will.” He went on to say that if people chose the parliamentary system he would abide by their will but that he believes a mixed system would be best during the coming four years.

Morsy began his election campaign in Tanta City on Tuesday during which he visited Mahalla al-Kubra to coincide with Labor Day celebrations. FJP and Muslim Brotherhood members formed a human chain carrying banners that read “Mohamed Morsy, president of Egypt,” and “Egyptian renaissance with Islamic background.”

Morsy supporters organized a massive rally to the Engineers Syndicate Club. The supporters wore t-shirts bearing Morsy’s picture and rode in cars and on motorcycles.

Upon arriving to the club's headquarters, Morsy met with Brotherhood Guidance Bureau member Mostafa Ghoneimy, head of the People’s Assembly’s religious committee Sayed Askar and Ahmed al-Ageezy, secretary of FJP in Gharbiya.

Askar said that “the Brotherhood fought tyranny” and that Morsy “was sent to prison more than once.”

He went on to say that Morsy will “continue in his struggle while he is president of Egypt” and that his candidacy “was a type of holy war.”

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Tantawi: Military to hand over power to elected civilian president

by admin
April 21st, 2012

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces, said Saturday that the armed forces will hand over power to an elected civilian president and guarantee the drafting of a constitution that pleases all Egyptians.

On the sidelines of the maneuver "Badr 2" by one of the formations of the Third Field Army on Saturday, Tantawi said "The armed forces are well, and they are the backbone of Egypt. The days and history will prove that and demonstrate to all the efforts exerted by the armed forces in the present stage."
 
He added: "We all work together for the sake of Egypt, which has not yielded to anyone or to a particular group, but will be for all Egyptians, according to the popular will."
 
He said the armed forces will continue to cooperate with other countries to develop its equipment, adding: "We will not antagonize states and will not allow the antagonizing of any state just for the sake of enmity, but will confront only those who antagonize us."
 
"We are working to update our equipment in all areas, and we have a diversity of sources of arms from the east and west," he announced, saying that the armed forces is currently working on the development of the air defense system and the development of naval forces in cooperation with Germany.
 
He said: "We are cooperating with other countries for the benefit of Egypt, without interference on their part in our will and our policy."
 
Tantawi said the armed forces are aiming to match the highest technology levels, and that Egypt has many companies and engineers capable of the work.
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Former deputy PM says army chief of staff asked him to run for president

by admin
April 18th, 2012

A member of the ruling military council asked former deputy prime minister and legal expert Yehia al-Gamal to run for president because he was accepted by both Copts and Muslims, Gamal said Wednesday.

In an interview on the privately owned Dream TV channel, Gamal said Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the council, was there and left during his meeting with Sami Anan, the council member and armed forces chief of staff who asked Gamal to run.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has denied that it has a preferred presidential candidate. But activists are skeptical about the council’s intentions to hand over power to an elected civilian president.

During the interview, Gamal discussed the different candidates.

“Ahmed Shafiq is a polite, organized person. However, being a former regime official would make him face difficulties,” Gamal said. He said most of the candidates are his friends and were his students in law school.

Gamal said presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh is the “nearest to Egyptians’ hearts.”

“He is a Muslim who believes in the civilian state, and this makes him the most qualified for the post,” Gamal said.

Gamal warned against fragmenting votes between Abouel Fotouh and the Muslim Brotherhood’s nominee, Mohamed Morsy, saying this would lead to another candidate winning, such as Amr Moussa. He said he expects Moussa to continue to runoff elections against Abouel Fotouh and Morsy.

Gamal said the Brotherhood “had lost ground among the people. The honeymoon between it, the military council and people is over because of its wish to control everything.”

He also warned against mixing religion and policy, saying this would harm them both.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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FJP poll: 30% of Egyptians want Islamist president

by admin
March 5th, 2012

Thirty percent of Egyptians want the country’s next president to have an Islamic background, a poll conducted by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party’s newspaper has revealed.

The survey included 500 participants from 18 Egyptian governorates, the newspaper said. Included are Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Daqahlia, Fayoum, Ismailia, Beheira, Assiut, Luxor, Red Sea, Sohag, Monufiya, Sharqiya, Gharbiya, Minya, Beni Suef and Aswan.

The newspaper reported that 23 percent of participants prefer a civilian president. Merging the aforementioned percentages, the poll suggests that more than half of voters reject a military president, given the fact that none of the current Islamist hopefuls have military affiliations.

According to the poll, 4 percent have not yet decided on their favorite candidate but said they will not back an Islamic figure in principle.

Meanwhile, 19 percent of participants will not vote for any candidate linked to the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. But 13 percent prefer to vote for a candidate who has political experience.

The poll also said 5 percent favor a president who does not belong to a high social class. Two percent prefer a military president, with an equal portion backing a candidate with an economic background.

One percent of participants said they would vote for a young president, while an equal percentage would back an independent candidate.

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Advisory Council presses for election timetable

by admin
February 22nd, 2012

The Advisory Council for Egypt’s military leaders on Tuesday called on them to hasten the announcement of a presidential election timetable, through which they have promised to hand over power to an elected civilian president by the end of June.

Osama Borhan, the council’s secretary general, told reporters Tuesday the council also urged the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to set criteria for electing members of the constituent assembly that will draft the country’s new constitution.

The High Judicial Elections Committee, during a press conference Sunday, said it was postponing the timetable announcement to give the Foreign Ministry time to offer suggestions regarding Egyptian expatriate participation. But it reiterated that potential candidates can submit nomination applications starting 10 March.

Political forces agree in principle that all political and social sects should be represented in the constituent assembly but disagree on implementation, Borhan said.

“The only disagreement is about whether the panel will comprise 55 members from Parliament and 45 from outside or vice versa,” Borhan said.

He said the next council meeting on Saturday will handle the requested amendments to Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration, which grants the elections committee immunity against any legal challenges to the polling process.

Borhan said the recently proposed idea of a consensus president is not part of the meeting agenda.

“That idea will not be discussed and I think it is inapplicable,” he said.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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