The Egyptian military has suspended the country’s constitution and named the chief of the Supreme Constitutional Court as head of state after informing Mohammed Morsi that he is no longer president.
Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s defense minister, announced the plan while surrounded by opposition leader and former IAEA chief Mohamed el-Baradei, Muslim leader Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, and Coptic Christian leader Pope Tawadros II. The inclusion of Tawadros may indicate plans to protect Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority, which was persecuted relentlessly by Islamists under Morsi’s government.
The plan dissolves the legislature and places Supreme Constitutional Court chief justice Adly Mansour as the head of the interim government until new elections can be held. A technocratic government will be put in place, according to el-Sisi.
The military’s roadmap also includes a plan to amend the constitution and hold parliamentary elections soon, though a specific date was not announced.
El-Sisi indidicated that the military will not tolerate violence in upcoming days and will respond forcibly to any violent outbreaks.
