Egypt’s interim president on Tuesday named liberal economist and former finance minister Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister in a transitional government, as the authorities sought to steer the country to new parliamentary and presidential elections.
Acting head of state Adli Mansour also appointed former UN nuclear agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei as deputy to the president, responsible for foreign affairs.
The hardline Islamist Nour Party, which has held up the political process by objecting to several candidates put forward by military-backed interim authorities, said it would support Beblawi’s appointment. The head of the party added that it was still studying ElBaradei’s appointment.
Earlier, Egypt’s interim rulers issued a faster than expected timetable for elections to try to drag the country out of crisis, a day after 51 people were killed when troops fired on a crowd supporting ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
The streets of Cairo were quiet on Tuesday but Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement called for more protests later in the day, raising the risk of further violence.
Under pressure to restore democracy quickly, Adli Mansour, the judge named head of state by the army when it brought down Morsi last week, decreed overnight that a parliamentary vote would be held in about six months. That would be followed by a presidential election.
In an important positive signal for the transitional authorities, the ultra-orthodox Islamist Nour Party said it would accept ex-finance minister Samir Radwan as prime minister, potentially paving the way for an interim cabinet.
The stakes were raised dramatically by the bloodshed on Monday, the worst since Morsi was toppled by the military. The army opened fire outside Cairo’s Republican Guard barracks where the deposed leader is believed to be held.
The bloodshed has also raised alarm among key donors such as the United States and the European Union, as well as in Israel, with which Egypt has had a US-backed peace treaty since 1979.
Officials said troops fired in response to an attack by armed assailants. The protesters disputed that account, insisting they were conducting peaceful dawn prayers.
The bloodshed shocked Egyptians, already tired of the turbulence that began 2-1/2 years ago with the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising. However, many Egyptians seemed to accept the official account that the troops had come under attack and had fired back.
The Brotherhood movement has refused to have anything to do with the process, and thousands of supporters have camped out in northeast Cairo for the last five days and vowed not to budge until Morsi returns as president – aseemingly vain hope.
