FRA approves establishment of five new firms for investment fund management, SME financing    Sukari Gold Mine showcases successful public–private partnership: Minister of Petroleum    Egypt's Environment Minister attends AMCEN conference in Nairobi    Egypt considers launching national platform to mobilise green financing for private-sector industrial transformation    Egyptian, Belarusian officials discuss drug registration, market access    Egypt's ARC, Italy's AICS sign deal to boost wheat production    Gold prices edge higher on July 16th    Egypt stocks hit record highs in 2025 as reforms fuel rally: Cabinet    Egypt condemns Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Syria    Syria says it will defend its territory after Israeli strikes in Suwayda    Pakistan names Qatari royal as brand ambassador after 'Killer Mountain' climb    Health Ministry denies claims of meningitis-related deaths among siblings    Egypt's Health Min. discusses drug localisation with Sandoz    Egypt, Mexico explore joint action on environment, sustainability    Needle-spiking attacks in France prompt government warning, public fear    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, France FMs review Gaza ceasefire efforts, reconstruction    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Egypt's PM urges BRICS to prioritise peace    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt's GAH, Spain's Konecta discuss digital health partnership    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Egypt's prime minister quits after calls for purge
Published in The Egyptian Gazette on 03 - 03 - 2011

CAIRO (Updated) - Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq resigned on Thursday and the military asked a former transport minister to form a new government which pro-democracy activists hope will be purged of Hosni Mubarak's old guard.
Shafiq was appointed prime minister by Mubarak in his final days in office before he was ousted on Feb. 11 after an 18-day popular uprising which shook the Middle East. There have since been protests and political pressure for Shafiq to step down.
One Shafiq aide said appointing Essam Sharaf prime minister was timed to defuse calls for another mass demonstration on Friday after a first modest reshuffle by Shafiq failed to mollify protesters who want a clean break with the Mubarak era.
"This is a shocking and premature resignation. There have been pressures from the streets that he quit," one of Shafiq's aides told Reuters, asking not to be identified.
"There was fear of Friday's protests and how big they may be. He actually wanted to leave before this week as well and does not want to agitate the people," the aide said.
The Muslim Brotherhood and other political groupings had also been calling for Shafiq and his government to step aside and the army, in an apparent response had vowed to halt any "counter-revolution" from hijacking Egypt's revolution.
The uprising in Egypt, a key US ally with a peace treaty with Israel, fuelled revolts against other autocrats in the region. Progress towards democracy in the Arab world's most populous nation will also have an affect on its neighbours.
The key jobs of foreign, interior and justice ministers were also likely to be reshuffled shortly, security sources said, to cleanse the government of further of links to Mubarak.
Ever since Mubarak's overthrow, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have turned out in Cairo's Tahrir Square and other cities to celebrate his downfall and send a message to the military that the people will not be ignored.
Protesters, some of whom have erected tents in Tahrir Square, greeted the news of Shafiq's resignation with jubilation and relief. They applauded the armed forces for meeting their demands and chanted: "The people and the army are united."
The crowds in Tahrir Square welcomed Sharaf as premier. But not everyone was as positive.
"This is a change for the worse not for the better," said Hassan Nafaa, a political scientist at Cairo University who also actively campaigned against Mubarak.
"Shafiq left but the one who has been installed has no political vision or anything to do with politics. There are other interests being secured that are thwarting change," he added.
Shafiq, an air force commander, has been tipped by one military source as a potential contender for the presidency in a forthcoming election. This would ensure the armed forces would have one of their own members in Egypt's top post.
Some analysts had suggested Shafiq would resign well before a presidential election, expected in the second half of the year as part of reforms promised by the military, to provide a suitable gap for him to prepare for his bid for the presidency.
But one of Shafiq's aides dismissed such an idea after Thursday's resignation, saying he did not expect him to stand.
Activists had demanded a new line up of technocrats as ministers after 30 years of Mubarak's rule. The cabinet will act as an interim government while Egypt holds a referendum on constitutional amendments in March, a parliamentary vote in June and a presidential election about six weeks after that.
"The Supreme Military Council had said publicly ... that the current government would be out before the parliamentary and presidential elections. Shafiq's resignation is part of that purging process," a security source told Reuters.
Nabil Abdel Fattah, a researcher at the al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic studies, said: "Shafiq had to leave because he was a symbol of the old regime and he underestimated the masses of angry revolutionary youth."
Reform to the constitution will make it much easier for Egyptians to run for the presidency, removing requirements which made it almost impossible for anyone but the ruling party and representatives of weak opposition parties to field candidates.
Some opposition figures are concerned that a rush towards elections is not in the best interests of democratic change.
Mubarak's administration had suppressed opposition groups for
decades and they say they need time to regroup.
They say only the Muslim Brotherhood, which was formally banned under Mubarak, is in the position to mount an election campaign, though the group says it will not seek a majority in parliament or the presidency.
A quick election will also suit the remnants of the National Democratic Party, the ruling party which had dominated parliament under Mubarak and whose headquarters on the bank of the Nile were burned down during the revolution.


Clic here to read the story from its source.