Thousands of Islamist and secular protesters gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday for a mass rally to press the ruling military to hand over power to a civilian government. As legislative elections draw near – the first polls since a popular uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February – protesters are demanding more control over the constitution the new parliament is set to draft. They want the withdrawal of a government document that proposes supra constitutional principles, which could see the ruling military’s budget shielded from public scrutiny. While Friday’s protests will group varying political stripes under different banners, the unifying call is for the military to transfer power to a civilian government as soon as possible. The protest is due to start officially after the noon Muslim prayers, but early morning crowds pointed to a large turnout.
The powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party have led the call for the Tahrir protest. Liberal, leftist and other Islamist parties said they would participate in the rally, as did pro-democracy movements that launched the January 25 uprising. The contested government document, presented by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Silmi, drew fire from most quarters for including clauses that removed the military’s budget from parliamentary oversight and allowed the SCAF a final say on military-related matters. The government revised the draft, but Islamists, who organised a mass protest in July against such a charter, have rejected the very idea of a document that would limit parliament’s authority to draft the constitution, branding the articles undemocratic. The Brotherhood, through its Freedom and Justice Party, may emerge as the largest bloc in the election, the first since the fall of Mubarak. The SCAF, which took charge after Mubarak’s ouster and suspended the constitution and parliament, says it will hand over power once a new president is elected. Parliamentary elections will start on November 28 and are expected to end in March.
