Egypt Swears In Mansour As Interim Leader After Coup
A day after a military coup ousted Egyptian president Morsi, an interim leader, Mahmud Mansour has been sworn in.
Mohammed Morsi was Egypt’s first freely elected leader in decades after Hosni Mubarak was toppled in the so called, Spring Uprising during the revolution of 2011.
Mansour said new elections are the only way forward, but did not indicate when they would take place.
In the meantime, Morsi and other former government officials are under house arrest.
Egypt had seen massive protests against Morsi and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, the group the former president belongs to.
The crowds were pushing for changes in the economic and political situation, which they claimed was going the wrong way.
Police say at least 10 people have died during the clashes between the two sides and at least 50 have been killed since the unrest began on Sunday.
Mansour was sworn in as chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court on Thursday morning. He then took the oath to become interim head of state, vowing to “preserve the system of the republic, and respect the constitution and law, and guard the people’s interests”.
He said he would safeguard “the spirit of the revolution” which removed Mubarak from power and would “put an end to the idea of worshiping the leader”.
Mansour added that elections would follow “the genuine people’s will, not a fraudulent one,” and that “This is the only way for a brighter future, a freer future, a more democratic one”.
The interim leader praised the military calling them the “guarantor of the nation’s security and safety”.
Mansour also invited the Muslim Brotherhood to future negotiations, but a representative of the group said that the former president as well as other leaders are under house arrest.
President Obama has said that the US is monitoring the situation closely and is very concerned over the turn of events that resulted in the military coup.
He has urged the military to move forward to restore democracy quickly.
Do you think that Egypt’s interim leader Mahmud Mansour will hold elections soon?
[Image via Mohamed Elsayyed / Shutterstock.com]
