Brotherhood rejects interim timetable for elections in Egypt

CAIRO

An Egyptian flag stained with blood flutters over members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi as they shout slogans during a protest outside Raba El-Adwyia mosque in Cairo July 8. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Senior officials of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood have rejected the timetable announced by the country’s interim president for amending the country’s Constitution and setting new presidential elections.

Essam el-Erian, deputy chairman of the brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), said July 9 on his official Facebook page that the transition plan was “a constitutional decree by a man appointed by putschists” and would take the country back to “square one.” He also vowed that the brotherhood would not drop its push to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Morsi, who was a longtime member of the group.

Interim President Adly Mansour issued the timetable for the transition process late July 8. Under the plan, he would create two panels to amend the charter. Those changes would be put to a referendum within about four-and-a-half months. Parliamentary elections would be held within two months after that, and once the new Parliament convenes, it would have a week to set a date for a presidential election. The brotherhood is demanding the military reinstate Morsi as president and has said it will have nothing to do with the military-backed transition.

Ahmad Abu-Barakah, a legal adviser to the FJP, also said the decree was “invalid and illegitimate.” The “constitutional declaration” coincided with the nation’s deadliest day since Morsi’s July 3 ouster, with more than 50 of his supporters killed by security forces. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials declined to comment on the road map for political transition.

Meanwhile, the Salafi al-Nour Party, the country’s second-biggest Islamist group after the Muslim Brotherhood, said it would accept the choice of former Finance Minister Samir Radwan as interim prime minister. Radwan was appointed at the end of January 2011 by Hosni Mubarak. Al-Nour Party spokesman Nader Bakkar said the party would accept Radwan because he met the party’s criteria that he be a “technocrat” economist and have previous experience in government administration.

Senior political sources said Radwan had emerged as the favorite for the post. Al-Nour had said last week it would not accept former U.N. diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei as interim prime minister, deepening the turmoil surrounding the transition.