The Egyptian political movement Tamarod, or rebellion, affirmed that their primary goal is early presidential elections supervised by the Supreme Constitutional Court with an impartial government. The group said on Wednesday that they have collected 7,540,535 signature so far in their petition to impeach President Mohamed Morsi. The group plans a massive demonstration on June 30 under one demand: early presidential elections. Despite lacking the legality in their request, as Parliament only has the power to impeach a president, the grassroots movement has had quite an impact on a political scene otherwise dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. One-third of Egypt's current Cabinet are affiliated with the group, thanks to a recent Cabinet shuffle, including the prime minister. Tamarod spokesman Mahmoud Badr said that the group "respects all political groups and all the ideas coming from ‘individuals' but we remain firm in our demand, early presidential elections." The group enjoys street appeal as well as being endorsed by high profile Egyptians, for its straightforward message that revolves around action and protest, not the latter alone. BN
