Egypt: El-Beblawi Prime Minister, but the opposition rejects the transition program

President Mansour appoints Hazem el-Beblawi Prime Minister of the provisional government and receives the approval of the parties. Still in doubt the appointment of Mohammed el-Baradei to the role of vice-premier. On the other hand, criticism by the opposition for the transitional programme. The Tamarod movement’s spokesman: “we have not been approached.” Cairo – The transitional programme designed by President pro-tempore Adly Mansour receives a ‘no’ from the opposition parties, while the ‘rebel’ Tamarod movement and the National Salvation Front complain about not having been consulted in drafting the roadmap that is supposed to lead the country to elections before 2014. Meanwhile, the appointment to Prime Minister of Hazem el-Beblawi, a liberal economist and former finance minister, receives the endorsement of the Salafist party al-Nour.

It is a partial success that achieved by Adly Mansour after 51 deaths since Monday morning. In a Cairo that has returned to apparent calm, the newly elected head of state has gathered the necessary consensus to appoint the new Prime Minister, but is lacking the approval of individual parties on the transitional programme. After the rejection of Mohammed ElBaradei, the al-Nour party, the most prominent party of Islamist orientation after the Muslim Brotherhood, approves Hazem el-Beblawi as Prime Minister; but stalls on the appointment of ElBaradei as his Deputy.

The clashes on Monday July 8 had urged the provisional president to set a date for new elections. After a two-week period, to make the necessary changes to the constitution in force, Adly Mansour had planned a second, four-month stage for the approval of such changes. At the end of four months, a referendum would open the way for elections, forecasted for the beginning of 2014.

Both the Tamarod movement, organizer of the oceanic protests of June 30, and the National Salvation Front complained about being excluded from consultations. Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood continues its garrison, asking loudly for the return of Mohammed Morsi. The demonstrations however, echo the call of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Minister of Defence and Chief of the Armed Forces, to “not undermine the difficult transition of the country”.