Egypt Sets Presidential Vote First as Violence Tears Country

In this image made from video broadcast on Egyptian State Television, Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour speaks at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014.

Elizabeth Arrott

January 26, 2014

CAIRO — Egypt's interim president has announced a change in the country's political road map, placing presidential elections as the next step in the transition after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last year.
The plan was unveiled one day after clashes between police and protesters left 49 people killed, hundreds wounded and more than 1,000 arrested.
Interim President Adly Mansour's decision to hold the presidential election next was widely expected.
While last year's road map placed parliamentary elections first, the newly approved constitution allows Mansour to decide which comes first.
A popular groundswell and government-organized support for Defense Minister Abdel Fatah el-Sissi, who ousted the country's first freely-elected civilian president after mass protests against his rule, to run as president have been building in recent months.
Other candidates who have expressed interest in running have qualified their bids, saying they would not take part if General Sissi campaigns.
Posters, masks and signs heralding Sissi's leadership were at the center of celebrations of the third anniversary of Egypt's revolution Saturday in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
But just off the square, as well as across Cairo and the country, opponents to the general and the military-backed interim government turned out for rallies and marches.
Clashes between police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, as well as secular activists, were the deadliest this year.
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An Egyptian woman wears a mask of Egypt's Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 25, 2014.

A protester wounded in clashes with security forces is evacuated from the site in the Mohandiseen district of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014.

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Early presidential election is called in Egypt day after killing of 49 protesters

By REUTERS      01/26/2014

Change to the post-Morsi political timetable could pave way for swift election of Sisi.

Egypt women Brotherhood protesting 370 Photo: REUTERS

CAIRO- Egypt will hold a presidential vote before parliamentary polls, President Adly Mansour said on Sunday, in a change to a political roadmap that could pave the way for the swift election of army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Parliamentary elections were supposed to be held first under the timetable drawn up after the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July following mass protests against his rule.
The decision to revise the order of elections is likely to deepen tensions in Egypt, which is struggling to cope with waves of political violence. Forty-nine people were killed in anti-government marches on Saturday, the third anniversary of the popular uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
"I have taken my decision to amend the roadmap for the future in that we will start by holding presidential elections first followed by the parliamentary elections," interim leader Mansour said in a televised speech.
Critics have campaigned for a change of the roadmap, saying the country needs an elected leader to direct government at a time of economic and political crisis and to forge a political alliance before potentially divisive parliamentary elections.
Sisi is expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency within days and win by a landslide. His supporters see him as a strong, decisive figure able to stabilize Egypt.
The Brotherhood accuses him of masterminding a coup and holds him responsible for widespread human rights abuses in a crackdown against the movement which has killed up to 1,000 Islamists and put top leaders behind bars.
While tough measures against the Brotherhood have nearly crippled it, security forces have failed to contain an Islamist insurgency. Militant attacks have raised fears for the stability of Egypt, of great strategic importance because of its peace treaty with Israel and control over the Suez Canal.
EXPECTED MOVE
A new constitution voted in earlier this month cleared the way for a change in the order of the elections by leaving open the question of which should come first.
"It was an expected move amid the growing signs that Sisi is being groomed to become the next president," said Khaled Dawoud, a well-known liberal activist.
Mansour did not announce a date for the presidential vote. The constitution says steps towards holding the first of the elections should be begin no later than 90 days from the ratification of the document in mid-January.
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