New Protests Tarnish the Transition in Egypt

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces today continued its work for transition in Egypt, with the commitment to hold the referendum on the Constitution in two months, in the midst of strikes and protests of workers demanding better wages.

Five days since the transition government assumed power after the abdication of President Hosni Mubarak, the joint military reiterated on Wednesday that it has no intention of maintaining leadership of the executive office for more than six months.

In a statement released by state media, the Egyptian military government, headed by the Minister of Defense Mohamed Tantawi, assured that he would turn over power to the future president elected democratically in free elections.

For this, the Supreme Council indicated that it is necessary that the laws on electoral matters be reformed, therefore the Constitutional Committee was instructed to evaluate the amendments to the Constitution to accelerate its work, so that in two months the proposal can be voted upon.

The Constitutional Committee, a panel of legal experts appointed by the military government, confirmed this morning that in April it will present a proposal regarding amendments to the Constitution, so that it may be voted upon in a referendum.

“We will finish the revisions in 10 days, and the results and referendum will be completed in two months,” indicated Sobhi Saleh, one of eight members of the Constitutional Committee, composed of judges and constitutional experts.*

Saleh, ex-legislator and prominent member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, a major Islamic group, highlighted that the military government has compromised to guarantee the transparency and security of the civic consultation.

With the adoption of amendments to the Constitution, the next step in the transition will be the assembly of legislative and presidential elections, after a predicted delay of six months, from which a new civil democratic government will arise.

The efforts of the Supreme Council to meet the demands of the population that there be a true change in the country is blurred by the strikes and protests by workers of diverse sectors, who now demand better wages and work conditions.

The biggest manifestation belonged to workers from the public textile company Misr Spinning and Weaving (yarns and fabrics) that employs some 24,000 people in Mahalá, in the Nile Delta, who have been unemployed for three days.

In the city of Ismailiya, employees of the Irrigation, Education and Health Offices also suspended work this Wednesday to protest against the seat of local government to demand fairer wages.

These protests were joined by the employees of banking and public transportation institutions and by the textile and oil sectors and includes workers and state television journalists, who confirm that wages have been the same for ten years.

In addition to Cairo and Ismailiya, the cities of Alexandria, Qaliubiya, Suez and Aswan were also scenes of protests by workers unhappy with their economic conditions during the regime of Mubarak, whose fall now calls for change.

*Editor’s Note: This quote, though accurately translated, could not be verified.