Presidential elections may be postponed until mid-2012 by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which has been ruling Egypt since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February. Presidential elections were expected to take place by the end of 2011. Informed sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm “There is a strong trend within the SCAF to hold parliamentary elections in September and put off presidential elections to June 2012, so the new Constitution is drafted before presidential elections.” The SCAF initially promised to hand over powers to a new president within six months of the 11 February takeover, holding both parliamentary and presidential elections first. Last week it held a referendum on a package of amendments to constitutional articles. Voters passed the amendments and the SCAF said these would be included in the constitutional declaration issued to govern the interim period. Sources added the declaration is delayed because of arguments among political forces: the SCAF says it wants to make the declaration after a consensus is reached that will please society and political trends. Political groups' points of view differ on major issues, such as whether the new Constitution should be issued ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections, and which elections should be held first. These disparities reflect different ideas about the post-interim period as well as political groups' readiness to participate in the light of what some perceive as growing Islamic power.
