Egypt government resigns ahead of presidential poll

Egyptian prime minister Hazem al-Beblawi

CAIRO, Feb 24 – The military-installed government of Egyptian prime minister Hazem al-Beblawi said Monday it has resigned, ahead of a presidential poll which will likely bring army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to power. Sisi, by far the country’s most popular political figure, has not yet announced his candidacy for this spring’s presidential election, but aides say he has already decided to run and will make the announcement soon. The field marshal, who is the defence minister and first deputy prime minister in the outgoing cabinet, has to resign from the government and the army before he can officially announce his candidacy. Beblawi’s government was appointed in July after Sisi ousted Islamist Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first elected and civilian president. A limited reshuffle to allow Sisi to step aside had been planned for weeks, but the resignation of the entire cabinet appeared to come as a surprise even for some government officials. The administration has weathered sharp criticism over its handling of security and the economy amid a spate of bombings and labour strikes, and could have presented Sisi with unwanted campaign baggage. “The cabinet decided in light of the current situation that the country is going through… to submit its resignation to Adly Mansour, the interim president,” it said in a statement. Beblawi praised the government’s performance on state television. “For the past six to seven months, the government assumed its responsibilities and duties… the government did not spare any efforts to get Egypt out of a bad phase,” Beblawi said in reference to the security and economic issues. “This is not the time for personal interests. The nation is above everybody.” Beblawi said the government had also completed the first step in a road map outlined by the military-installed authorities, by holding a referendum on a new constitution in January. Beblawi said the his government would remain in a caretaker role until the interim president signs off on the resignations, the official MENA news agency reported. Government spokesman Hany Saleh told AFP that Monday’s decision was taken because there was a “feeling that new blood is needed”. “Egypt is moving forward. This decision will not affect foreign relations or internal stability,” he said, adding it was still unclear which ministers would keep their posts.

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