Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi called a Dec. 15 referendum on a new constitution, hoping to end protests over a decree expanding his powers, as at least 200,000 of his Islamist supporters rallied in Cairo on Saturday.
Approval of the constitution drafted by an assembly stacked with Mursi’s Islamist allies will override the Nov. 22 decree that temporarily shielded Mursi from judicial oversight and triggered statements of concern from Western governments.
The decree plunged Egypt into its worst crisis since Mursi won office in a June election and sparked countrywide protests and violence in which two people have been killed and hundreds injured. This hit an economy just showing signs of recovery.
“I renew my call for opening a serious national dialogue over the concerns of the nation, with all honesty and impartiality,” said Mursi after receiving the final draft from the constituent assembly. “We must move beyond the period of confrontation and differences, and get on to productive work.”
The constitution is meant to be the cornerstone of democracy after three decades of army-backed autocracy under President Hosni Mubarak. Yet drafting it has been divisive, exposing splits between newly empowered Islamists and their opponents.
Protesters in an open-ended sit-in in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, which was also the focus of demonstrations against Mubarak, accuse Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood of trying to impose a flawed constitution.
