Report: Morsi may suspend decree
Sky News Arabia reports president is mulling writing off controversial clauses in decree that grants him more powers
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is leaning towards suspending the decree that granted him wide reaching powers or alternatively writing off two controversial clauses in order to pacify angry Egyptians, Sky News Arabia reported Wednesday.
Meanwhile, senior officials in Egypt's presidential palace denied reports that Cairo will postpone a referendum on the new constitution scheduled for December 15.
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On Tuesday, the National Rescue Fund (NRF), a body consisting of various opposition groups, gave Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw the decree and the referendum.
Video courtesy of jn1.tv
Egypt's opposition called for the establishment of a new constituent assembly tasked with drafting a constitution that will meet the needs of the Egyptian people. The NRF threatened to stage protests outside the presidential palace, where opposition protesters are already camped out, until the people's demands are met.
Egyptians protest against Morsi (Photo: Reuters)
A statement on behalf of the opposition also threatened to step up the campaign if Morsi fails to withdraw the decree by Friday. According to Sky News, the Egyptian president met with senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party to discuss ways of handling the crisis.
Egyptian security forces (Photo: Reuters)
On Tuesday, Tens of thousands of Egyptians massed in Cairo Tuesday for a march to the presidential palace to protest the assumption by the nation's Islamist president of nearly unrestricted powers and a draft constitution hurriedly adopted by his allies.
In the coastal city of Alexandria, some 10,000 opponents of President Mohamed Morsi gathered in the center of the country's second largest metropolis. They chanted slogans against the Egyptian leader and his Muslim Brotherhood.
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