Cartoon by Khalil Bendib
"(Reuters) - Egypt's interim president named at least 18 new provincial governors on Tuesday, half of them retired generals, in a shake-up that pushed out Muslim Brotherhood members and restored the influence of men from army and police backgrounds.
Deposed president Mohamed Mursi had appointed a number of civilians as provincial governors during his year in office, some of them members of his Brotherhood. That marked a break with the Hosni Mubarak era, when the posts typically went to retired army and police officers.
The new appointees were sworn in by Interim President Adli Mansour, head of the army-backed government, which replaced the Mursi administration that was removed last month after mass protests against Brotherhood rule.
Critics said the line-up announced on Tuesday was a step back towards autocratic rule.
"It is Mubarak's days," prominent blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah wrote on his Twitter feed. "Down, down with every Mubarak. Sisi is Mubarak," he added, referring to General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief who deposed Mursi.
In a meeting at the presidential palace, Mansour told the governors their priority was to improve public services, "provide essential commodities at appropriate prices, and bring about security in the Egyptian street".
Yasser El-Shimy, Egypt analyst with the International Crisis Group, called the move a "partial return to the status quo ante, where the appointment of retired generals is seen as a way to ensure order and stability".
"This move will likely play into Islamist accusations that the new regime is an attempt at reviving the old one," he said......"
No comments:
Post a Comment