The Star Online: World Updates
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- Egypt president scraps decree that sparked protests
- Egypt's president cancels decree that sparked protests
- Romanians vote in poll that may reopen political spat
| Egypt president scraps decree that sparked protests Posted: 08 Dec 2012 06:34 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has cancelled a decree that gave him sweeping powers and sparked deadly violence, but did not delay this month's referendum on a new constitution as his opponents had demanded.
The announcement that Mursi had scrapped his November 22 decree followed hours of talks on Saturday at his presidential palace, billed as a "national dialogue" but which was boycotted by his main opponents and had little credibility among protesters. One opposition group dismissed Mursi's efforts at appeasement as the "continuation of deception." His opponents have demanded Mursi scrap the vote on December 15 on a constitution that was fast-tracked through an assembly led by Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists. Liberals and others had walked out, saying their voices were not being heard. Islamists have insisted the referendum should go ahead on time, saying it is needed to complete a democratic transition still incomplete after Hosni Mubarak's overthrow 22 months ago. The military, which had run the nation during a turbulent interim period after Mubarak fell, stepped into the crisis on Saturday to tell feuding factions that dialogue was essential to avoid "catastrophe." But a military source said that was not a prelude to the army retaking control of Egypt or the streets. After Saturday's talks, the president issued a new decree in which the first article "cancels the constitutional declaration" announced on November 22, the spokesman for the dialogue, Mohamed Selim al-Awa, told a news conference held around midnight. But he said the constitutional referendum would go ahead next Saturday, adding that although those at the meeting had discussed a postponement, there were legal obstacles to taking such a step. The political turmoil has exposed deep rifts in the nation of 83 million between Islamists, who were suppressed for decades, and their rivals, who fear religious conservatives want to squeeze out other voices and restrict social freedoms. Many Egyptian just crave stability and economic recovery. RESPONSE Islamists and more liberal-minded opponents have both drawn tens of thousands of supporters to the streets in rival rallies since Mursi's decree last month. Seven people were killed in violence around the presidential palace, which has been ringed by tanks. The spokesman for the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, which stayed away from Saturday's talks, said his group would meet on Sunday to discuss a response to Mursi's initiative to cancel his old decree. But Hussein Abdel Ghani added: "My first personal impression is that it is a limited and insufficient step. We repeatedly said that among our top demands is for the referendum to be delayed." The April 6 movement, which helped galvanise street protests against Mubarak, said in a statement about the outcome of Saturday's talks, "What happened is manipulation and a continuation of deception in the name of law and legitimacy." The new decree excluded some elements from the old decree that angered the opposition, including an article that gave Mursi broad powers to confront threats to the revolution or the nation, wording opponents said gave him arbitrary authority. Another article in the old decree had put beyond legal challenge any decision taken by the president since he took office on June 30 and until a new parliament was elected, a step that can only happen when a new constitution is in place. That was not repeated, but the new decree said that "constitutional declarations including this declaration" were beyond judicial review. DIALOGUE The new decree outlined steps for setting up an assembly to draft a new constitution should the current draft be rejected in Saturday's referendum. In addition, the opposition was invited to offer suggested changes to the new constitution, echoing an earlier initiative by Mursi's administration for changes to be discussed and agreed on by political factions and put to the new parliament to approve. Amid the violence and political bickering, the army has cast itself primarily as the neutral guarantor of the nation. "The armed forces affirm that dialogue is the best and only way to reach consensus," the military statement said. "The opposite of that will bring us to a dark tunnel that will result in catastrophe and that is something we will not allow." The army might be pushing the opposition to join the dialogue and for Mursi to do more to draw them in, said Hassan Abu Taleb of the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. He discounted the chance of direct military intervention, adding, "They realise that interfering again in a situation of civil combat will squeeze them between two rocks." But the military seemed poised to take a more active role in security arrangements for the upcoming referendum. A Cabinet source said the Cabinet had discussed reviving the army's ability to make arrests if it were called upon to back up police, who are normally in charge of election security. According to the state-run daily al-Ahram, an expanded military security role might extend to the next parliamentary election and, at the president's discretion, even beyond that. (Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan; Editing by Peter Cooney) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Egypt's president cancels decree that sparked protests Posted: 08 Dec 2012 04:50 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has cancelled a decree that gave him sweeping powers and sparked huge protests, but did not delay a referendum on a constitution as his opponents had demanded. The announcement came from the spokesman for politicians and other figures who took part in a national dialogue on Saturday convened by the Islamist president. But the main opposition group stayed away, so the talks had little credibility among protesters.
One of the opposition's main demands was to scrap a referendum on a constitution that was drafted by an Islamist-led assembly. Liberals and others quit the assembly, saying their voices were not being heard. But that vote will go ahead on December 15 as planned. Officials said those at Saturday's talks had discussed a delay but found legal obstacles prevented any change in the date for the referendum. The president issued a new decree in which the first article "cancels the constitutional declaration" announced on November 22, spokesman Mohamed Selim al-Awa told a news conference. Last month's decree had led to protests and deadly violence. The new decree excluded some elements from the old decree that had angered the opposition, including one article that gave the president broad powers to confront threats to the revolution or the nation, wording that the opposition said gave him arbitrary authority to act. Another article in the old decree had put beyond legal challenge any decision taken by the president since he took office on June 30 and until a new parliament was elected, a step that can only happen when a new constitution is in place. Although that article was not repeated, an article in the new decree put "constitutional declarations including this declaration" beyond judicial review. The new decree also outlined steps for setting up an assembly to draft a new constitution should the current draft be rejected at a referendum the decree said would be held on December 15. The spokesman for the main opposition coalition that boycotted Saturday's talks, the National Salvation Front, said his group would meet on Sunday to discuss the announcement, but added his personal view was that it was not enough. (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Romanians vote in poll that may reopen political spat Posted: 08 Dec 2012 03:57 PM PST BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's prime minister is heading for victory in parliamentary elections on Sunday that could set off another round of a power struggle with the rightist president and complicate talks for a new IMF deal.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta's leftist Social Liberal Union (USL) will win most votes and possibly a clear majority, according to opinion polls. But analysts say President Traian Basescu may use his powers to ask one of his own allies to try to form a government. Any prolonged period without a new administration in place would unnerve markets and raise questions about how the country would obtain a new International Monetary Fund deal once the current agreement expires in early 2013. The leu fell to a record low against the euro in August, during an attempt by Ponta to remove the conservative Basescu from office, using tactics which the European Union and United States said undermined the rule of law. At the time, Basescu said he would never again name Ponta as prime minister. Last week, he said only that he would appoint someone in the best interests of the country. One possibility would be for Basescu to ask someone other than Ponta from within the Social Liberal Union to become prime minister, using the argument that the USL is not a party, but rather a coalition of different political groups, according to analysts. If the USL falls short of a majority, he could also ask one of his allies from the Right Romania Alliance (ARD) - in second place in polls with about 20 percent - to try to form a coalition. "Even if Ponta is elected by voters and nominated by Basescu with a secure majority, scope for damaging discord with Basescu in the medium term remains," said James Goundry, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. The USL has scored at least 57 percent in three opinion polls published in December. The former communist country has made progress in some areas since the 1989 revolution that overthrew communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, but lags regional peers Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic and struggles to supply running water and reliable electricity to some of its 19 million people. Long-term reforms such as privatisations and an overhaul of the health sector have failed to materialise, as the economy struggles to recover from a deep recession. Romania's complicated electoral system - combining constituencies and proportional representation - favours large parties. The USL has benefited from disenchantment with Basescu and the previous government which pushed through unpopular austerity measures such as salary cuts and higher sales tax. Less than half of the electorate is likely to vote, according to analysts, due to a deep dissatisfaction with Romania's political class that many voters view as corrupt. "Romania's political class is all horrible," said Anton Popescu, who lives off a pension of 900 lei ($250) each month. "I have no hope for better times after the election, I just hope it won't be worse than it already is." Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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