/ 30 June 2012

Mohammed Morsi to be sworn in as president of Egypt

Egypt's new president-elect
Egypt's new president-elect

A day after he took a symbolic oath in front of thousands in iconic Tahrir Square.

Morsi will take his official oath before the country's highest court, the Supreme Constitutional Court, rather than the parliament, as has been past practice with Egyptian presidents.

The court dissolved the Islamist-led parliament earlier this month after it found the electoral law unconstitutional.

Tight security was seen around the court in southern Cairo, as preparations were underway for Morsi's inauguration ceremony.

Morsi, who is Egypt's first civilian Islamist president, is also expected to address political figures in Cairo University afterwards.

Grip on power
The engineering professor took a symbolic oath of office on Friday before thousands of people at an anti-military rally in Tahrir Square.

For more than a week, thousands of activists, mainly Islamists, have been camping out in Tahrir, demanding that the military abolish a controversial temporary constitution perceived to have tightened the generals' grip on power, which they issued after parliament was dissolved earlier this month.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has been ruling the country since Hosny Mubarak was forced out of power in a popular revolt in February 2011.

Morsi was declared president last Sunday after he got around 52% of the vote in the June 16-17 presidential runoff to beat Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister and a former army general. – Sapa-dpa