Adli Mansour Sworn in as Egypt’s Interim President
CAIRO- The chief justice of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, has been sworn in as interim president of Egypt, according to Press TV.
“I swear to preserve the system of the republic, and respect the constitution and law, and guard the people’s interests,” Mansour said on Thursday as he took the oath of office at a ceremony in the Supreme Constitutional Court building in the capital, Cairo.
During his speech, army-mandated Mansour hailed the military and police in dealing with the political crisis facing the country.
Late Wednesday, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the head of Egypt’s army, announced that President Mohamed Morsi was no longer in office during a speech on state television.
Sisi said Morsi had failed to meet the demands of the people.
Adli Mansour vowed to lead a “modern, constitutional, national and civil country.”
Mansour went on to say that the Muslim Brotherhood is a “part of the nation” and invited the party to “share in building the country.”
Having served as deputy head of the Supreme Constitutional Court since 1992, Mansour was named chief of the court in May 2013 and took up his post on July 1.
Mansour also suspended the country’s constitution, saying that new parliamentary elections will be held.
Morsi’s ouster came after days of massive anti-government protests across the country.
Morsi, is being held by the authorities, a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman and a security official said on Thursday, according to the Voice of Russia.
Ahmed Aref, the Brotherhood spokesman, said both Morsi and Essam El-Haddad, a senior aide, were being held but he did not know where.
A security official said they were being held at a military intelligence facility.
“Morsi and the entire presidential team are under house arrest in the Presidential Republican Guards Club,” Gehad El-Haddad, the son of a top Morsi aide, told AFP.
Haddad’s father, Essam El-Haddad, widely seen as Morsi’s right-hand man, was among those held, he added.
H. Mustafa