CAIRO - Egypt's revolutionaries, most political party affiliates and thousands of ordinary citizens, show up in Tahrir Square and other squares nationwide Friday, in protest against the ruling military council's way of managing the transitional phase, the extension of the Emergency Law and the new electoral rules. Some of the revolutionary groups said the demonstration could turn into an open sit-in until the remaining demands of the revolution are met, including setting a timeline for handing over power to a civil, elected authority and scrapping newly announced electoral rules. "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has failed to restore security, extended the Emergency Law, issued very unacceptable electoral laws and kept remnants of Mubarak's regime in office. That's why Egyptians are urged to protest anew," read a statement by the Revolution's Youth Union, one of the groups organising today's demonstration. The statement added that there could be a sit-in after the demonstration in Tahrir Square. "We are reviewing plans for a sit-in to pressure the authorities into meeting the people's demands," it said. Most political parties said they will join in the protest, entitled ‘Restoring the Revolution, to be held in Tahrir Square and some other square across the country. However, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafists said they will not participate. The Egyptian Bloc, a political alliance of more than 15 parties, along with 62 other political groups, have confirmed their participation, claiming that the SCAF's management of the transitional phase is a matter of concern for them. "Let's say in a loud voice Egyptians are still in a revolution," read a post on a Facebook group, calling for the demonstration. It added that the demonstration will turn into a sit-in. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Wafd Party and some other 35 parties of various leanings have threatened to boycott elections due to start on November 28 unless the SCAF amends the Election Law and adopts a law passed in 1952, to prevent remnants of Mubarak's party from running in the polls. Parties made their boycott threat in a joint statement late on Wednesday, in which they gave the SCAF an ultimatum of next Sunday to respond. The eight demands of the Brotherhood-led Democratic Alliance bloc include approving a law that would effectively prevent many of those who supported Mubarak, while he was in power, from running for office. Without it, the parties said they will not take part in the elections: "We will boycott the elections, if they have not responded positively to our demands by Sunday," el-Sayyed el-Badawi, the head of the Wafd Party, said during a conference late on Wednesday. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party is now the largest and best organised party in Egypt, since Mubarak's National Democratic Party was dissolved by court order. Under rules approved by the council, which took over after Mubarak's overthrow, party lists may compete for two-thirds of seats in Parliament, to be allocated regionally by proportional representation, while the rest are constituency seats reserved for unaffiliated individual candidates. The Health Ministry, meanwhile, has arranged for 35 ambulances to be deployed in the area of Tahrir Square and issued a decision preventing medical staff in Cairo hospitals from taking a holiday today. "We have a plan to deal with the protests. We hope they are peaceful," said Dr Amr Helmi, the Minister of Health. Article Five of the new Electoral Law specifically forbids those elected as independents from joining a parliamentary bloc once elected ��" on pain of losing their seats. The military had promised that it would not conduct the elections under a state of emergency, which was widened in scope earlier this month after protesters ransacked the Israeli Embassy in Giza and clashed with police. The controversial Emergency Law ��" which has been continuously in place since Islamists assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 ��" had been regularly extended in Mubarak's regime.
