Constitutional amendments or a military coup?
The constitutional addendum announced by the SCAF on 18 June, as the presidential runoff polling stations closed, assigned yet more authorities to the SCAF. It was called by many as another military coup.
Under the addendum, the SCAF would be responsible for deciding on all issues related to the armed forces including appointing its commanders and extending the terms in office of the aforesaid commanders, effectively making the military council immune.
The president cannot declare war without the approval of the SCAF. In addition, should there be domestic unrest within the country the president would have to ask permission of the military council for assistance.
Now that the president is no longer head of the police, effectively the president has absolutely no control over weaponry or an armed force.
Egypt 's infamous emergency law re-imposed
It may be recalled that Egypt's infamous emergency law, which had given President Hosni Mubarak and his police forces vast authority to crack down on dissent, expired on May 31, 2012 and officials said they were disinclined to extend it.
Suspension of the law, which had been in effect for more than 30 years, was among the key demands of revolutionaries who toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011. Human rights activists hailed its expiration as a historic milestone and among the most important dividends of last year's popular revolt. "It's a law that symbolized the extraordinary powers given to the police, which created an environment in which forced disappearances and torture happened regularly," said Heba Morayef, a Cairo-based researcher for Human Rights Watch.
The Brotherhood, a venerable organization, was among the opposition groups in the country that suffered most from the law. Many of the organization's leaders were imprisoned for years, without due process, based on the government's contention that they posed a security threat.
However, just days before the presidential vote, on June 13, the Egyptian government announced that military police and intelligence officers have been given the right to detain civilians.
The decree was dated June 4, meaning it was issued just four days after the expiration of Egypt's infamous emergency law, which for decades gave the state broad powers to imprison political activists which posed a threat to the ruling party.
The new edict authorizes military and intelligence officials to detain civilians for numerous alleged offenses, including disobeying orders, blocking traffic and going on strike.
Mohamed el-Beltagui, a senior lawmaker from the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, denounced the decree, calling it a return to a system of "violation of public freedoms." He said parliament would hold an emergency hearing on the move and would seek to fight it in the court system. However, the parliament was dissolved.
Human rights organizations criticized the decision, saying it suggests that the military is reluctant to fully yield power to an elected president later this month.
Who is Mohammed Mursi?
A U.S.-educated engineer, Mr. Mursi will be the Arab world's first freely elected president, the Wall Street Journal said adding: " That he hails from a conservative Islamist party, with offshoots in nearly every Muslim-majority country, is certain to reverberate beyond Egypt's borders--particularly in other Arab states still in the throes of revolution."
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