Egypt’s Military Ruler promises to hand over power

Responding to flaring anti-military sentiment, Egypt’s de facto military ruler Hussain Tantawi yesterday sought to reassure the people that the military council was committed to transferring power to an elected civilian administration.

“The armed forces will hand over the country to an elected civilian system and a [new] constitution with which all Egyptians will be pleased,” Tantawi was quoted by the state Middle East News Agency as saying during a military drill outside Cairo just a day after massive protests.

The agency did not refer to a June 30 deadline previously set for the power transfer by the junta. Fears have grown about the country’s political future after Tantawi suggested at a recent meeting with politicians that a new constitution be written before a presidential election scheduled for next month. The opposition suspects the military council is trying to stay on in power, according to Gulf News.com.