10/12/2012 11:17
Egypt's opposition rejects Morsi compromise on constitution
Egypt's opposition rejected an offer of compromise by President Mohammed Morsi to end the country's crisis over a new constitution as an empty show on Sunday, and called for mass street protests on Tuesday.
As Telegraph told a fresh rally was under way around the presidential palace last night as leaders of the liberal and secular opposition to Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood set up a final showdown before Saturday's referendum on the constitution.
Mr Morsi had agreed on Saturday night to drop a constitutional decree giving himself powers beyond judicial scrutiny. But he replaced it with a new one that insisted the referendum would go ahead despite calls for a delay.
A moderate Islamist politician involved in talks with the Brotherhood over the crisis said there would be an opportunity later to revise controversial articles of the draft constitution, which the opposition says does not guarantee basic rights.
But opposition groups refused to back down, and held a press conference on Sunday night to denounce both the referendum and Mr Morsi's repeated constitutional decrees.
"We do not recognise the draft constitution because it does not represent the Egyptian people," a statement by the opposition coalition National Salvation Front said.