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Wednesday 3 July 2013

Morsi to quit or be removed today – al-Ahram


AhramOnline photo by Mai Shaheen
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will either resign by the end of the day or be removed from office by the Egyptian Armed Forces.
Abdel-Nasser Salama, editor-in-chief of Egypt’s newspaper of records al-Ahram, writes this morning:
In the hours following 4.30 local time (3.30 GMT) deadline set by the Armed Forces, one of two things will happen:
  1. The president stands down of his own volition, or
  2. He is removed from office, in keeping with the roadmap set by the Armed Forces.

The said roadmap also provides for:
  • Annulment of the Constitution and the appointment of constitutional experts to draft a new constitution that takes into consideration the demands of the broadest spectrum of public opinion. The constitution will be put to a referendum after its endorsement by al-Azhar
  • Formation of a three-member Presidential Council -- chaired by the head of the High Constitutional Court and two other members yet to be named -- to manage the affairs of state during a transition period of between nine months and a year
  • Formation of an interim government rid of all political currents and headed by one of the military leaders for the duration of the transition
  • Preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections. The new Constitution shall determine which of the two ballots comes first.
  • Throughout the transition period, the Army shall oversee these measures – set out in the “Roadmap for the Future” – to ensure their impartial implementation.

Al-Ahram says all Muslim Brotherhood key players are kept in check, all Brotherhood sites stocking arms are being monitored, a number of Brotherhood leaders have been placed under house arrest and the Brotherhood’s funds have been frozen.