RT
July 7, 2013
The appointment of former IAEA chief Mohamed Elbaradei for the post
of Egypt’s interim prime minister has been placed on hold as
consultations with various political parties over the selection of an
interim PM continue.
Speaking at an impromptu press conference held at Cairo’s Ittihadiya
presidential palace, spokesman for interim President Adly Mansour, Ahmed
Musilamani, told reporters the presidency had to take into account
opposition to ElBaradei and denied that the nomination of the Nobel
Peace laureate was ever certain.
Earlier, the Tamarod movement which organized the mass protests that
lead to the overthrow of Morsi on Wednesday, made the announcement after
consultations with Adly Mansour, that Mohamed ElBaradei was appointed
to be Egypt’s interim Prime Minister.
The announcement was greeted with cheers from thousands of Tamarod
supporters outside the presidential palace. They waited there for most
of the day as ElBaradei spent Saturday in discussions with other chiefs
of Egypt’s new coalition, involving army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at
the Ministry of Defense.
Meanwhile, the country’s most prominent Islamist parties expressed
their opposition amid the news reports ElBaradei would be appointed.
“The nomination of ElBaradei violates the roadmap that the political
and national powers had agreed on with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,”
the deputy leader of the Nour Party, Ahmed Khalil told Al Ahram. The
Nour Party is Egypt’s second biggest Islamist group.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest Islamic party and
supporters of former President Morsi also voiced their anger over
ElBaradei’s nomination, calling it “Washington’s choice” and urged more
protests on Sunday.
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