Mursi Hails Constitution: New Dawn, Republic

Local Editor

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi hailed Wednesday the new charter he pushed through as "a new dawn" for his country, and said he would now tackle a teetering economy.

In a televised national address, Mursi said he would reshuffle his government and renewed an offer of dialogue with the opposition.
But while "mistakes on both sides" occurred as the new charter was drafted and put to a referendum that gave it 64-percent voter support, he remained defiant over the "difficult" decisions he made.

"I only took decisions for God and in the interests of the nation," said Mursi, who hails from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.
"As we set on a new phase moving from the first republic to the second republic, a republic that has this constitution as its strong base. I renew my pledge to respect the law and constitution," Mursi said, repeating his oath of office based on the new charter.
It was "a new dawn for Egypt," he said.

Mursi, the first elected president after Mubarak, said a national dialogue aimed to set "a road map" for the future. He renewed his invitation to political parties to join a dialogue he launched before the referendum results came out.
The opposition, however, has already dismissed the new charter and said it would fight on, challenging its legitimacy and positioning itself for legislative elections that are due within the next two months.

In this context, the head of the opposition National Salvation Front, Mohamed al-Baradei tweeted that the constitution was "void" because it conflicts with international law in regard to "freedom of belief, expression, etc".
In parallel, Mursi said in his speech that "I will deploy all my efforts to boost the Egyptian economy, which faces enormous challenges but has also big opportunities for growth."

He was in consultations with Prime Minister Hisham Qandil on the ministerial reshuffle as part of "the changes necessary for this task."
Mursi further argued that the new constitution will allow Egypt to enter "an era with greater security and stability" and vowed to promote "growth, progress and social justice."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org