Egyptian President vows to reshuffle government

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi hailed an Islamist-backed charter he pushed through despite fierce opposition protests as “a new dawn” for his country, and said he would now tackle a teetering economy, according to AFP.

In a televised national address, Mursi said he would reshuffle his government and renewed an offer of dialogue with the largely secular opposition.

But while “mistakes on both sides” occurred as the new charter was drafted and put to a referendum that gave it 64% voter support, he remained defiant over the “difficult” decisions he made.

“I only took decisions for God and in the interests of the nation,” said Mursi, who hails from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

The result, he contended, holding up the constitution, would cap nearly two years of turmoil since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, and allow Egypt to enter “an era with greater security and stability.”

It was “a new dawn for Egypt,” he said.

The opposition, however, has already dismissed the new charter and said it would fight on, challenging its legitimacy and positioning itself for legislative elections that are due within the next two months.

The head of the opposition National Salvation Front, Nobel peace prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei tweeted that the constitution was “void” because it conflicts with international law in regard to “freedom of belief, expression, etc”.

The Front sees the charter as a possible tool to introduce strict Islamic shariah law by weakening human rights, the rights of women and the independence of the judiciary. It also stressed that just one in three of Egypt’s 52mn voters took part in the referendum.

Musi said in his speech that “I will deploy all my efforts to boost the Egyptian economy, which faces enormous challenges but has also big opportunities for growth.”

He was in consultations with Prime Minister Hisham Qandil on the ministerial reshuffle as part of “the changes necessary for this task.”

Mursi argued that the new constitution will allow Egypt to enter “an era with greater security and stability” and vowed to promote “growth, progress and social justice.”

The U.S., which gives $1.3bn a year to Egypt’s influential military, has called on Mursi to work to “bridge divisions” with the largely secular opposition.

“We have consistently supported the principle that democracy requires much more than simple majority rule,” acting State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.