Egypt's chief justice Adly Mansour was sworn in yesterday as interim president as the military detained deposed president Mohamed Morsi and other senior figures of the Muslim Brotherhood, which vowed not to work with the transitional regime and ordered its supporters to continue protests.
He and nine other brotherhood leaders face investigation for insulting the judiciary.
Mr Mansour spoke of the “onerous” task he faces since he did not “come to power through election but through the trust of the revolutionaries in the square. “I am not a president for a [normal] presidential term . . . I am president until we have parliamentary and presidential elections and the issue of the [controversial] constitution is resolved.” In a bid to make the transition process inclusive, Mr Mansour stated that the brotherhood is “part of the fabric of Egyptian society and invited the movement to “participate in building the nation”.
He said, fresh elections are the “only way” to resolve Egypt’s political problems but did not fix a timeframe. The upper house of parliament, the brotherhood-dominated Shura Council, has been dissolved, as was the lower house in June 2011.
Former central bank governor Farouk El-Oqda has reportedly been asked to form a new cabinet after Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, founder of the 11-party National Salvation Front, refused the post. The new cabinet is likely to include deputies in charge of security, economic affairs and social justice.
Ten cabinet ministers submitted their resignations following the removal of Mr Morsi, six non-brotherhood minister have already stepped down.
Up to 50 people have died since protests and demonstrations began a week ago and the military has deployed to prevent clashes and confrontations between the pro- and anti-Morsi camps.
