Egypt's Armed Forces overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders.
After a day of drama in which tanks and troops deployed near the Presidential Palace as a military deadline for Mursi to yield to mass protests passed, the top Army Commander announced on television that the President had “failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people”.
Flanked by political and religious leaders and top Generals, General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced the suspension of the Islamist-tinged constitution and a roadmap for a return to democratic rule under a revised rulebook.
The President of the supreme constitutional court will act as interim head of state, assisted by an interim council and a technocratic government until new presidential and parliamentary elections are held.
“Those in the meeting have agreed on a roadmap for the future that includes initial steps to achieve the building of a strong Egyptian society that is cohesive and does not exclude anyone and ends the state of tension and division,” Sisi said in a solemn address broadcast live on state television.
But a statement published in Mursi's name on his official Facebook page after Sisi's speech said the measures announced amounted to “a full military coup” and were “totally rejected”.
Mursi is under house arrest at an undisclosed location.
The Head of Egypt's constitutional court Adli Mansour was sworn in on Thursday as the Interim Head of State a day after the ouster of President Mursi.
According to military decree, Mansour will serve as the country’s transitional president until a new leader is elected.
In the meantime, the Gulf States welcomed the Egyptian Army's ouster of President Mursi.
Saudi state news agency SPA said King Abdullah sent a message of congratulations to the Head of the Egyptian Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour.
The UAE also welcomed the change in Egypt, according to state news agency WAM, and praised the Egyptian Armed Forces.
There was no word from Qatar, the only Gulf country to have publicly sided with the Muslim Brotherhood. Witnesses said the country deployed extra Police Forces around the Egyptian Embassy in Doha.
Source: Reuters; SPA; WAM
