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Mubarak delegates authority to VP, vows to live and die in Egypt

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

By   Rania Al-Malky and Sarah El Sirgany /Daily News Egypt February 11, 2011, 5:59 am

CAIRO: In a highly anticipated speech that left many disappointed, President Hosni Mubarak said that he will delegate presidential authority to Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman but within the constraints of the constitution, which does not give him the authority to dissolve parliament and cabinet.

The speech, in which many expected the President to step down, included a passing apology over the deaths reported during protests last week.

Mubarak referred to the constitutional amendments that are currently being drafted by a constitutional reform panel: article 76, regulating presidential elections and the conditions for candidature; article 77, regarding term limits for the president; article 88 concerned with how elections are conducted; article 93 concerned with court rulings on rigged votes; and article 189 regarding the process of amendments to the constitution. He also requested the cancellation of article 179 which allows the president to use military courts.

Immediate reactions to President Mubarak’s speech were negative. Youth activist Asmaa Mahfouz, speaking to BBC Arabic, said that the speech is completely rejected.

Al-Wafd Party’s chairman Al-Sayed Al-Badawy also told the BBC that the promise to hand over authority to the VP came too late.

Minutes after Mubarak’s speech, VP Suleiman President reiterated that the president put the interests of the nation above all else, emphasizing his commitment to peaceful transition of power according to the constitution.

He said that he will continue the national dialogue he had already started and will help realize the people’s demands, but called on all citizens to look to the future which he described as “bright with freedom and democracy.”

He also warned against the “destructive agendas” intent on “obstructing our goals” and urged protesters to go home.

Protests have been sweeping the country since Jan. 25, when online activists called for street action to shed light on police brutality on Police Day. But when thousands took to the streets, instead of calling for political and economic reforms, they called for toppling the regime.

The protests gained momentum despite a violent crackdown that reached its height on Jan. 28-29 and on Feb. 2. Numbers grew to reach hundreds of thousands, with estimates that more than 2 million were protesting on Feb. 8 across Egypt.

Labor protests and strikes began sprouting on Feb. 9-10, including in key industries such as public transport. Protesters called for yet another “million man march” on Friday to commemorate over 300 killed in protests. Feb. 11 was expected to draw the largest number of protesters across Egypt.

At around 5 pm on Thursday, an army officer reportedly told protester to expect an important statement from the military responding to their demands. This coincided with other official statements that suggested the President might step down, a notion labeled earlier as unthinkable.

Speculation about the president’s resignation fueled cheers in protests around the country, especially in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Crowds started flocking to the Square despite some concerns about a possible military coup that might impose martial laws.

The newly appointed Secretary-General of the ruling National Democratic Party, told BBC that Mubarak should step aside.

"I expect the president to respond to the demands of the people, because what matters to him in the end is the stability of the country. The post is not important to him," Hossam Badrawy said.

"The right action in my opinion is to send a letter for constitutional amendments, to step aside and give the power to the vice president and to ask for early elections when the amendment is approved," he said.

"I don't think he will leave the country. He is a military hero, he has lots of good things that have been done, lots of mistakes too," he added.

Later, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued what it called “statement number one”, saying that the council will remain in continuous session to consider measures necessary to protect the nation.

In addition to affirming its commitment to protecting citizens’ safety, the council also cited its “support for the legitimate demands of the people”. TV footage of the meeting showed the absence of Mubarak, the military commander-in-chief.

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency also said it was likely Mubarak would step down in the following few hours.

"There's a strong likelihood that Mubarak may step down this evening, which would be significant in terms of where the, hopefully, orderly transition in Egypt takes place," Leon Panetta told a congressional hearing in Washington.

Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq also told the BBC that the 82-year-old strongman may step down.

Mubarak met with Shafiq and Vice President Omar Suleiman in the evening, according to State TV.

Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqi, however, told news agencies that the president wouldn’t step down.

At 8 pm, US President Barack Obama said “We are witnessing history unfold — it is a moment of transformation that is taking place.”

“We want those young people – and all Egyptians – to know America will continue to do everything that we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in Egypt,” he added. –With agencies

 

 
   
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Shah Mostain Billah
I am a Bangladeshi-Canadian. I have been very closely observing the ongoing political developments in Egypt as well as the reactions from people around the globe. When the USA, the EU and the UN say that an orderly transition of power in Egypt has to take place now, I am not sure what exactly it looks like. Does it mean that Mubarak steps down and his Vice-President Suleiman or the Speaker of the parliament takes over and starts a transitional process aiming at the next general election in September 2011? It’s not yet clear enough. However, it is clear though that people on the streets of Egypt are not going to accept Suleiman or any other identified Mubarak’s crony as his successor. On the other side, given the power structure as defined by the existing constitution of Egypt, one can argue that if Mubarak decides to step down, it is the Vice-President who will automatically take over. And, in that case, the main object of ousting Mubarak regime and restoration of democracy will remain unsolved. Here, I would like to refer to almost a similar situation of Bangladesh that took place in December 1990. After about 9 years of autocratic role of President Ershad, almost all the political parties and people from all walks of life took to the street with a single demand of ousting the President Ershad from power. When the mass movement continued for six weeks and the whole country virtually became paralyzed, President Ershad came up with a TV speech addressed to the nation on 2 December 1990 and said that he was ready to resign. However, he also set out a plan as to how he would relinquish the office. He told the countrymen in his speech that a general election will be held on a certain date and that his party (Jatiya Party), like many other political parties, would participate in the election while he would resign as the President 15 days before the proposed general election. This was pretty much the same kind of speech as President Mubarak delivered twice in the recent days. The people on the streets led by the major political parties as well as the All Party Students Action Committee rejected President Ershad’s speech right away and called upon him to step down immediately while the armed forces who had been seen long-time loyal to Ershad took a neutral position. Three days later when Ershad was alienated from all quarters and finally agreed to resign, a constitutional bar came up at that point as to who would he handover the power? According to the then constitution, the President could relinquish the office by submitting his resignation letter to the Vice-President. As the then Vice-President Moudud Ahmed was a frontline crony of President Ershad (similar to the relationship between Mubarak and Suleiman), the opposition leaders came up with an unanimous proposal that Justice Shahab Uddin Ahmed, the Chief Justice of the country, would taker over the Presidency and act as the head of an interim or caretaker government in order to hold a free and fair general election within the next 90 days. In this process what was said in details is that the Vice-President Moudud Ahmed would first resign and vacate the office and then President Ershad would appoint Justice Ahmed as the Vice-President. Finally, Ershad would submit his resignation to the new Vice-President. But there still remained a constitutional bar as the sitting Chief Justice was not supposed to take over the office of the head of state. On this point, a consensus or verbal agreement was sealed among the major players in a way that President Ershad would dissolve the parliament after appointing Justice Ahmed as the Vice-President and then he would resign as the President. And, after the general election, a bill to amend the constitution in order to ratify the transitional period of Justice Ahmed would be tabled and passed by the new parliament. This is how the people of Bangladesh got rid of an autocratic regime. I believe, this is the prime time for the people on the streets of Egypt to choose a leader ofa their own to replace Mubarak-Suleiman regime by following the way of 1990 mass movement in Bangladesh.
 

Kazmis
Arabs Pride! Beside a lot of pressure, Egyptian intellect chose to defy those forces who want an abrupt change rather turmoil in the country putting whole nation in miserable conditions. Egypt command showed a real brave face just starting an encounter with some big powers. I wish Egypt people could visualize this situation. Revolution come from within the nation, not by provoking by other nations.
 
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