WITHOUT exerting any effort to unify the different political powers behind him, the incoming president might regard himself as lucky that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) issued its sudden interim constitution specifying his authority. Although intended to strip the presidency of power, the interim constitution issued by SCAF late on Sunday gave the new president, unexpected support from the different political powers, especially the revolutionary ones that called for a ‘million-man' demonstration in Tahrir Square to express opposition to the declaration. The revolutionary rivals, including the failed presidential candidates, described the declaration as a military coup and an attempt to monopolise decision making and authority by the military council to direct Egypt's future. Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account that by this constitutional declaration, the SCAF meant to preserve the legislative authority and deprive the president from being High Commander of the Armed Forces so that the SCAF would remain the actual ruler of the country. While the revolutionary powers are not happy at either an Islamist candidate or a former general of Mubarak regime winning the presidential election, they still seek an end to the military rule of Egypt as one of the main goals of the revolution that should not be wasted. It is true that the Egyptian people do not want the new ruler to have all authority in his hands, as was the case for some six decades. However, this could be fulfilled via the new constitution that distributes authority between the president, the prime minister and the parliament with the generals disappearing from the political theatre and not via a constitutional declaration issued by the military council a few days before the naming of the new president.
