CAIRO: In Friday's million-man “last chance” demonstration, some protesters organized a public referendum in Tahrir Square to form a civil presidential council chaired by Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Mohamed el-Baradei and Hossam Essa. The youth distributed thousands of forms with the three nominated names on among demonstrators. Another form for collecting signatures was distributed, each form including 20 signatures with ID number, phone number and political affiliation beside every signature. The form has a blank space to vote one of the nominees as president of the council. The referendum provided civilians the chance to add the name of any public figure for the People's Assembly membership, omit anyone of the three proposed names, or refuse them completely. The referendum aims to bring figures with credibility from the Egyptian streets to authority and to appoint them spokespeople of the revolution. The forms include the national program proposed by protesters to achieve the revolution's demands, which include handing over authority to civilians, appointing a technocratic National Salvation Council, regardless of any political trend, and setting a date for passing the constitution and its referendum. A statement attached with the forms called for the necessity of purging the media, education and police bodies. It also called for the dissolved National Democratic Party's headquarters to be given to the youth and political movements for their new parties. The statement also requested the National Anthem be changed.
