Multiple marches converge on Tahrir Square in protest at President Morsi's recent constitutional declaration; opposition protests seen across governorates, while president's supporters also hold rallies 18:05Ahram Online's Osman Sharnoubi reports that Tahrir Square is packed, with some rallies still to arrive. The famous chant of “Sit-in until the regime falls,” is echoing in the square. According to activist Leil Zahra, volunteers from the “End Sexual Harassment” group are in the square wearing pink arm bands, to counter any harassment issues. Ahram Online's Sara El-Rashidi has been interviewing prominent lawyer at the Court of Cassation, Amir Salem, who is in Tahrir. Salem argues that Morsi's recent declaration is unconstitutional, and in fact is an attempt by Morsi and the Brotherhood to create an Islamic caliphate. He bitterly criticises what he sees as an unacceptable attack on rule of law and on Egypt's judiciary, arguing that: "No one, not even Mubarak, challenged the constitutional court and tried to spoil its reputation." 17:55Despite a high turnout in Tahrir Square and neighbouring streets, Ikhanweb (the Brotherhood's English-language website and Twitter account) insists that demonstrations against the constitutional declaration lack support. "We support peaceful protests & strong opposition; low protesters turnout today indicates lack of support among Egyptians unlike #Jan25” said the Ikhanweb account on Twitter. 17:45Moving north-east to the Delta city of Mansoura, where it is being reported that hundreds of protesters have blocked the major road heading to the governorate's headquarters, in protest at Morsi's constitutional declaration. The protesters chanted against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood saying: “Nasser said it before, do not trust the Muslim Brotherhood.” 17:40The official spokesperson of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Colonel Ahmed Ali, denied rumours spreading online as well on some TV channels that military police have been preventing buses from outside greater Cairo from entering the capital. The official spokesperson said that the military police are there only to secure the highway and is not authorised to deal with civilians. “We reiterate that the Egyptian armed forces' loyalty is only to the Egyptian people and the Egyptian territories,” he said. ## 17:35 The Supreme Judicial Council is holding an emergency session to discuss a response to the statement released by the presidency on Monday evening, announcing that the constitutional declaration will remain unchanged. A source from the justice ministry told Ahram Arabic news website that the judges did not approve of the declaration, contrary to what the statement said. 17:30The Mostafa Mahmoud march set off for Tahrir several minutes ago. Thousands of protesters are chanting “Sell the revolution Badie [the Supreme Guide of the Brotherhood]” and “The people want to bring down the regime.” One protester holds a sign saying "Feloul are liars, Brotherhood are liars, the military are liars, revolutionaries continue." Meanwhile, Ahram Online's Osman Sharnoubi reports from Tahrir: “This is definitely the biggest protest I have seen in Tahrir Square since the 18 days [of January 2011] including the anti-Essam Sharaf Cabinet protests, the pro-sharia demonstrations, and those held on the anniversary of January 25.” 17:25Lina Wardani, Ahram Online reporter, says that a march made up of around three thousand protesters has just started from Shubra Square, heading to Tahrir. Mohamed Metwalli, a protester in the march, said that he is against the constitutional amendments because it gives the president “unlimited powers.” He added that “Morsi should either leave or cancel the declaration.” ## The Fatah Mosque march in central Cairo has increased and now numbers in the thousands. Gameela Ismail, one of the founding members of the Constitution Party, is leading the march. “We will not give up until Morsi cancels the constitutional decree,” she told Ahram Online. Ahram Online reporter Sarah El-Rashidi talks to a legal expert in Tahrir Square who wants to remain anonyomous. "The declaration is unconstitutional because the president is not authorised to fortify the decison. He is not authorised to fire the prosecutor-general, since Law 46 from 1972 states that he cannot be fired. We are not living in a revolutionary period - it ended when Morsi became a president. Thus he doesn't have the authority to augment his powers as per the recent declaration Article 6, and other articles protecting the Constituent Assembly and the Shura Council. My main fear is the fortification of Morsi's decision." Tahrir Square is now fully packed with protesters. All streets leading to it, with the exception of Qasr Al-Aini which is sealed off by a newly-built wall, are full of people walking to and from the square. Egyptian flags dominate the scene. Flags from an array of non-Islamist parties can be seen all around; flags and banners of the Wafd Party, the Egyptian Popular Current, the Free Egyptians Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, and the Tahrir Party, as well as others, are among them. 17:20Political analyst Moetaz-Bellah Abdel-Fattah tells Ahram Arabic website: "Morsi shot himself in the foot...his declaration united all political forces and opposition against the president...If Morsi wanted to make any accomplishments he should have united all political forces around him but he only focused on winning the elections, and depended on his supporters alone,” he added. Ex-presidential candidate and head of the leftist Egyptian Popular Current Hamdeen Sabbahi has arrived, according to the Popular Current Twitter page, at the thousands-strong marchin front of Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque in the Giza district of Mohandeseen. He will be at the front line as the march leaves for Tahrir after sundown prayers. 17:15 Kamal Abu Eita, the head the Independent Union of Real Estate Tax Agency Employees, has joined a march from the Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Mohandseen. Abu Eita, a long time labour activist, said that he does not trust the Brotherhood any more. He added that he stood in the last parliamentary elections on the Brotherhood's electoral list, but now regrets it. ## "I now know that the Brotherhood does not work for the nation but for themselves only." He also complained that the Constituent Assembly alienated farmers and workers. "All independent syndicates are here today to protest against Moris. Egypt is not all Brotherhood." 17:10Khaled Metwali, a member of the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Coalition, told Ahram Online that the group plans to remain in the square until Morsi backtracks on his constitutional decree. "If the decree is not removed, we will demand that Morsi himself leave. And then we can have new presidential elections.” Lina El Wardani, an Ahram Online journalist who is on her way from Tahrir Square to Shubra's march wrote on Twitter: "I haven't seen such large numbers since Mubarak's fall in February 2011." Lawyer Fatma El-Zahraa Al-Ghoneim of the appeal court, who was marching with the lawyers to Tahrir Square, told Ahram Online: "What Morsi did is illegal, this declaration is not constitutional; its a void decree. We demand the return of [prosecutor-general] Abdel-Meguid, not because of any personal virtue he has, but in accordance with the law. Changing the prosecutor-general should be done legally, and Morsi had promised not to sack him and and to abide by the law”. In Tanta, hundreds of protesters from political parties and movements against the constitutional declaration have been holding a rally on Tuesday afternoon, chanting against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.“We are the youth of the January 25 Revolution, we are not Salafists or Brotherhood,” and “Down with Morsi, Morsi is from the Muslim Brotherhood too.” The rally so far is moving through the major streets of the city. Significant clashes are being reported between the protesters and Brotherhood supporters. 17:05Photos:Ahram Online's Mai Shaheen captures some of the scenes of Tahrir Square today here 17:00 Good evening and welcome to the second part of Ahram Online's coverage of the day's mass demonstrations. You can find the morning's coverage here.Marches by artists, journalists and part of the lawyers' syndicate have already made their way to the square, but most of the planned marches to Tahrir Square are due to happen this afternoon. The central square is already full of protesters who are opposing Morsi's Thursday Constitutional Declaration. Ahram Online correspondents estimate the numbers present to be in the tens of thousands. The Muslim Brotherhood had initially planned to hold rival protests in Cairo and in other governorates, but announced that the Cairo march was cancelled to "avoid bloodshed." There have, however, been sporadic pro-Morsi protests in various governorates outside of the capital, including Alexandria on the coast, and Assiut in Upper Egypt, where thousands of Azhar students and faculty have reportedly demonstrated in support of the president. Although demonstrations within Tahrir are largely peaceful, sporadic clashes with police continue to occur on the fringes, including Simon Bolivar Square in the west and Mohamed Mahmoud Street in the south – both sites of ongoing clashes between small groups of protesters and the police over the last few days. One protester, Fathy Gareeb from the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, has died as a result of tear gas exposure in Simon Bolivar Square. His death is the third protester death in the last week – 16-year-old 6 April Youth Movement supporter Gaber "Jika" Salah in Cairo, and 15-year-old Islam Masoud, a Muslim Brotherhood supporter who died in Damanhour in the Nile Delta.
