FILE: YEARENDER FOR EGYPT - REVIEW OF THE YEAR - Key developments in post-Mubarak Egypt in 2012
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837330
FILE: YEARENDER FOR EGYPT - REVIEW OF THE YEAR - Key developments in post-Mubarak Egypt in 2012
- Title: FILE: YEARENDER FOR EGYPT - REVIEW OF THE YEAR - Key developments in post-Mubarak Egypt in 2012
- Date: 19th December 2012
- Summary: SHARQIYA, EGYPT (JUNE 16, 2012) (REUTERS) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MOHAMED MURSI REGISTERING INSIDE POLLING STATION MURSI CASTING BALLOT INTO BALLOT BOX / WAVING TO CROWD CAIRO, EGYPT (JUNE 24, 2012) (REUTERS) TAHRIR SQUARE, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MOHAMED MURSI SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS, CELEBRATING
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- Topics: Domestic Politics
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- Story Text: Egypt's parliament began its first session on January 23 after an election put Islamists in charge of the assembly following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
Supporters of the newly elected members gathered in the street outside the Parliament building to cheer on the new MPs as they entered parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood's party was the biggest winner in the first free vote in decades. It had vowed to guide Egypt in the transition to civilian rule after generals took charge following the fall of Mubarak to a popular uprising last February. Generals were to remain in charge until after a presidential election in June 2012.
The parliament was dissolved a few months later by the country's generals. On June 14 the Supreme Court ruled that laws under which parliament had been elected were unconstitutional. Egypt's then-ruling military council dissolved the assembly two days later. The parliament, however, has been reconvened by newly elected President Mohamed Mursi in defiance of the Supreme Courts's ruling thus creating a political crisis in the country.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison on June 2 after being convicted for his role in the killings of anti-government protesters last year but the sentence, short of a death penalty, and his acquittal of corruption charges sparked outrage and scuffles in the courtroom.
Fifteen months after a popular uprising ended the nearly 30-year rule of long-time Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians were preparing to elect Mubarak's successor in the country's first truly competitive presidential elections. Egyptians went to the polls on May 23 and May 24 in the first round of elections with a run-of a month later. Islamist candidate Mohamed Mursi, running against Mubarak's former prime minister Ahmed Shafik, won Egypt's first free presidential election in history.
Mohamed Mursi was sworn in as Egypt's President on June 30. Fresh from swearing in, Mursi told a jubilant crowd at Cairo University his government was committed to upholding the country's international agreements. Just before he took to the stage some in the audience chanted slogans against the army which has held power since the popular uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
A few hours after Mursi was sworn in the ruling military council formally handed power to the country's first freely elected leader in a military ceremony in Cairo. The military council under Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi have ruled the most populous Arab state since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow in February 2011. Tantawi, who saluted Mursi when he arrived at Heikstep army base just outside Cairo for the televised occasion, said the military council had kept their promise, which they made to the entire country. But the country remained in political limbo, without a constitution, a lower house of parliament or any clarity about the role of a military anxious to stay in the driving seat, as Islamists and others challenged its right to do so. Tantawi's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has guided a chaotic and sometimes bloody transition since Mubarak's overthrow, holding elections, but issuing arbitrary and often contradictory decrees, while the economy shrank, increasing hardship for millions of Egyptians.
An army decree on June 17 clipped presidential powers, denying the head of state his role as supreme commander of the armed forces with the right to decide on war and peace. It also gave SCAF legislative powers until a new parliament is elected, as well as veto rights over the writing of a new constitution.
The newly-elected president sworn in Egypt's new government at a ceremony in Cairo on August 2. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi kept his post as Egyptian defence minister in a Muslim Brotherhood-led administration, confirming the military's role at the epicentre of power. Tantawi's inclusion in Prime Minister Hisham Kandil's cabinet was widely expected, but underlined the emerging power balance between a civilian president from a once-banned Islamist group and the generals who removed Hosni Mubarak from power.
Mohamed Mursi was welcomed by the international community. He held various high-profile regional and international meetings and in September for the first time addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. Mursi told the international leaders gathered in the hall that Egypt opposed foreign military intervention to stop the civil war in Syria and preferred an inclusive, negotiated settlement. As nuclear tensions escalate in the region, Mursi called the Middle East to be rid of weapons of mass destruction, but defended countries' right to nuclear energy.
But back in Egypt he faced urgent matters of having a new parliament and a new country's constitution in place. On November 22 he issued a presidential decree granting himself immunity from legal challenge until a new parliament is elected. Opponents accused Mursi of being the new Hosni Mubarak and hijacking the revolution. Mursi spoke to supporters outside the presidential palace on November 23 in the wake of widespread public anger and said he was not acting against the interests of the revolution. Mursi, gave himself sweeping powers that allowed him to sack the unpopular general prosecutor and opened the door for a retrial for Mubarak and his aides. Mursi's aids said the presidential decree was to speed up a protracted transition that has been hindered by legal obstacles but Mursi's rivals were quick to condemn him as a new autocratic pharaoh who wanted to impose his Islamist vision on Egypt.
In response there have been days of violent demonstrations in central Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said and Suez demanding Mursi to step down.
Demonstrations continued bringing tens of thousands of Egyptians into the streets after an Islamist-led assembly on November 30 raced through approval of a new constitution in a bid to end a crisis over the Islamist leader's newly expanded powers. Mursi has said his extra powers would lapse once the constitution is adopted in a referendum, the first rounding of voting took place on December 15 with a second round on 22.
The draft constitution provides for basic protections against arbitrary detention and torture and for some economic rights. But, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch, it fails to end military trials of civilians or to protect freedom of expression and religion. The constitution limits the president to two four-year terms. The president must secure parliament's approval for his choice of prime minister. The head of state can declare war with parliament's approval, but must consult a newly defined national defence council, in which generals outnumber civilians. Sharia, or Islamic law, remains the main source of legislation.
Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's top authority, is to be consulted on "matters related to sharia". In personal status affairs, Christians and Jews would follow their religious codes. Religious freedom is limited to Muslims, Christians and Jews. The draft drops an earlier article linking women's rights to sharia. But it does not mention women in an article prohibiting discrimination, saying only: "Citizens are equal before the law and equal in rights and obligations without discrimination."
Opposition has called for a 'No' vote in the referendum. But whatever the outcome of the referendum, the crisis has polarised Egypt and presages more instability at a time when Mursi needs to enact tough policies to steady a fragile economy. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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