Mohamed Morsi - Ousted
By Ugonnaya Nwachukwu
Following days of massive protests, Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected President, in the country's second revolution in two years was finally ousted on Wednesday by the military. This was due to his rejection of an ultimatum delivered by the military to resolve the crisis within 48 hours which led to a stand-off with the military, Egypt’s most powerful institution. Morsi had remained defiant insisting that he was Egypt's proper President.
"The world is looking at us today," he said in a taped statement delivered to the Arabic satellite network Al Jazeera. "We by ourselves can bypass the obstacles. We, the sons of Egypt, the sons of this country - this is the will of the people and cannot be cancelled."
Shortly after Morsi's statement aired, Al Jazeera reported its Cairo studios were raided during a live broadcast on Wednesday and its presenter, guests and producers arrested.
In a televised address to the nation, Egyptian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief - Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi announced that Adly Mansour - a 67 year old judge who according to CNN only became the head of the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court on Monday, was named as the country's new interim President supported by a national unity government until early elections are held.
Chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi had also claimed that Morsi "did not achieve the goals of the people" during his single year in office. Mansour is expected to be sworn in on Thursday.
A senior advisor to Mr Morsi had earlier compared the army’s decision to a coup and had warned of the risks of “considerable bloodshed.” “For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let’s call what is happening by its real name: Military coup,” Essam al-Haddad, a Presidential Assistant for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation wrote on his official Facebook page.
Politicians in Europe, meanwhile, cautioned the army against undermining the country’s nascent democracy.
“We can only warn Egypt against returning to a situation where the military dominates politics. This is not the democratic change the Egyptian people have demonstrated and fought for,” Hannes Swoboda, leader of the European Parliament’s Socialist faction, said in Strasbourg.
The military has not publicly commented on Morsi's whereabouts. But Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad told CNN the deposed president was under "house arrest" at the Presidential Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo.