Protesters Continue Sit-in, Calling SCAF to Hand over Power

Thousands of Egyptians have kept up their protest at Cairo’s Tahrir Square to call on the ruling generals of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to relinquish power.

The protesters, who have been on Tahrir Square since Tuesday, are also calling for the reinstatement of the parliament, which was dissolved by SCAF on June 16 following an earlier Supreme Court ruling. They also demand that President-elect Mohamed Morsi be granted full powers. 

Under a constitutional declaration issued late on June 17, the junta took control of the state budget and gave itself veto power over a new constitution, making the new president almost powerless. 

On Monday, Morsi began working on forming a government he says will represent all Egyptians. 

On Sunday, after days of delay, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission announced Morsi was the winner of the county’s presidential runoff. 

Morsi picked up 13.2 million votes out of just over 26 million, giving him 51.7 percent of the vote. 

His competitor, Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under Hosni Mubarak, received 12.3 million votes or 48.3 percent. Early on Tuesday, he flew to the United Arab Emirates, hours after the country’s prosecutor general launched a corruption investigation against him. 

Tens of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo and across the country to celebrate Morsi’s victory, chanting slogans like “God is greatest” and “Down with military rule.”, according to Press TV.