Egypt History Part 8

In December / January 2011/12, elections to the people’s assembly took place, in which the Islamist forces were able to win more than two thirds of the seats. The strongest political force was the Freedom and Justice party, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, with 235 seats, ahead of the radical Islamist Party of Light (123 seats). On February 1, 2012, more than 70 people were killed in violent clashes following a football match in the Port Said stadium. From the first round of the presidential elections on 23/24. 5. In 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, M. Morsi, emerged victorious, followed by Ahamad Schafiq, whose candidacy remained legally and politically controversial due to its proximity to the old regime. On June 2, 2012, Mubarak Sentenced to life imprisonment for sharing responsibility for the deaths of demonstrators (acquitted in March 2017 in the last instance). On June 14, 2012, the Constitutional Court declared the law on parliamentary elections to be partially invalid and thus the composition of the parliament to be illegal. At the same time, the judges confirmed the legitimacy of Schafiq’s candidacy. The Supreme Military Council then dissolved the People’s Assembly and took over legislative sovereignty by decree. At the same time, the president’s powers were restricted.

In the runoff election for the presidency on 16./17. 6. In 2012 M. Mursi was just able to assert himself against Schafiq with 51.7% of the votes. In the run-up to the announcement of the results, there were protest demonstrations against the military council. On 30 6. 2012, the swearing-in took place Mursi as president. Hisham Qandil (* 1962) took over the office of head of government on August 2, 2012. On August 5, 2012, according to neovideogames, 16 Egyptian soldiers lost their lives in a terrorist attack by Islamic militants on a Sinai border post. Against this background, President Morsi changed the army leadership on August 12, 2012 (including dismissal of Mohammed Hussein Tantawi as Chairman of the Supreme Military Council and as Minister of Defense) and canceled the orders issued by the Supreme Military Council in June 2012 that had restricted the power of the head of state. After further attacks on security forces, the Egyptian military used fighter planes and tanks against extremist bases on the Sinai Peninsula. 22 11, 2012 consolidated Mursi power through a constitutional decree that preserved his decisions from legal challenge and, protected dominated by the Islamists Constitutional Commission whose legitimacy was drawn by the secular groups in doubt before a judicial resolution. At the same time Mursi called a new attorney general. The President’s actions sparked demonstrations and protests. On November 30, 2012, the Constitutional Commission adopted the draft of the new constitution. After the protests continued, Morsi withdrew his controversial decree. The new constitution received in a referendum on 15/22. 12. 2012 an approval of 63.8% of the votes.

On January 26, 2013, a court sentenced 21 people to death in connection with the Port Said stadium riot. After the verdict, violent protests broke out and killed many people. On January 27, 2013, Mursi declared the cities of Port Said, Suez and Ismailia a state of emergency for 30 days. In the period that followed, political resistance to the president and the Muslim Brotherhood associated with him increased. The protest movement Tamarod (»Rebellion«), formed on April 28, 2013, collected over 22 million signatures to support Mursi to move to resign and thus to achieve new elections for the presidency. On June 2, 2013, the Constitutional Court also declared the 2012 election of the Shura Council, the remaining legislative body after the dissolution of the People’s Assembly, to be unlawful. Domestic political tensions increased when the President appointed 17 new provincial governors on June 17, 2013, including 7 Muslim Brotherhood. The anniversary of the inauguration Mursi on 30 6th 2013 occurred in Cairo and other cities marred by violence, mass demonstrations, demanding the dead and injured. In Cairo, the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood was devastated. In view of the escalation, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hiredOn July 1, 2013, all political groups were given an ultimatum to come to an agreement and resolve the crisis within 48 hours. After the president opposed the ultimatum, the army deposed him on July 3, 2013. At the same time, the constitution was repealed.

Adli Mansur (* 1945), the country’s highest constitutional judge, took over the post of interim president on July 4, 2013. The Shura Council was dissolved. As a result, violence in the country escalated. In clashes with the army in Cairo on July 8, 2013, 51 supporters of Mursi were killed. The new President Adli Mansur issued a constitutional declaration on July 8, 2013, which gave him extensive legislative and executive powers. The financial expert Hazim Beblawi (* 1936) was appointed the new head of government on the same day. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mohammed el-Baradei took over the office of Vice President on July 14, 2013. Despite international mediation efforts, the conflict between the transitional government and the Muslim Brotherhood, which wanted to force the restoration of the military-appointed Morsis through mass protests, could not be resolved. On July 26, 2013, the public prosecutor’s office issued an arrest warrant for the ousted president for cooperation with Hamas and other crimes, which made political de-escalation difficult. On August 14, 2013, security forces evacuated two Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo at gunpoint, killing at least 817 people. As a result, riots and bloody clashes broke out in other parts of the country. Transitional President Adli Mansur declared a state of emergency. In view of these developments, Vice President Mohammed el-Baradei announced his resignation. On September 23, 2013, a Cairo court declared the Muslim Brotherhood illegal. The state of emergency imposed in August was lifted on November 12, 2013 by court decision. In December 2013, the government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. In a referendum on 14./15. 1. In 2014, a new draft constitution was approved by 98.1%. 38.6% of those eligible to vote had taken part in the referendum. The violent clashes with Morsi’s supporters continued. At least 49 people were killed in protests on January 25, 2014, the third anniversary of the popular uprising. On January 27, 2014, Interim President Adli Mansur promoted Army Chief and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who had established the armed forces and the security apparatus as determining factors of power after the fall of Morsi, to field marshal. Hazim Beblawi’s interim government resigned on February 24, 2014. Ibrahim Mahlab (* 1949) became the new head of government on March 1, 2014 .

Egypt History 8

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