CAIRO: Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi, facing street protests over his attempts to push through a new constitution, will soon authorise the armed forces to help police keep order, the state-run newspaper al-Ahram reported today.
The daily said the cabinet had approved a legal measure under which the armed forces would help “maintain security and protect vital state institutions” and would be given powers of arrest, but did not say when it would be issued.
The opposition was still staging protests around Mursi’s official palace, where clashes with his Islamist supporters killed seven people and wounded 350 earlier this week.
Egypt’s military was the power behind all previous presidents and an army council temporarily took over after a popular revolt toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.
However, Mursi pushed the generals aside in August, two months after he was elected and they have shown no appetite to intervene in the latest crisis in the most populous Arab nation.
Egypt also postponed early voting on a contentious draft constitution, and aides to President Mohammed Morsi floated the possibility of canceling the whole referendum in the first signs on Friday that the Islamic leader is finally yielding to days of protests and deadly street clashes.
The announcement by the election committee head Ismail Hamdi to delay early voting on the charter came as a surprise, and it was difficult to predict whether it will lead to a breakthrough in the political crisis.
The president’s aides said the move would ease some pressure and would provide room for negotiations with the opposition. (Agencies)
