Egypt: Mubarak May Step Down Today
February 10th, 2011Update: Mubarak Refuses to Step Down
—End Update—
Update: Military Coup
Via: CNN:
President Hosni Mubarak is expected to announce Thursday night that he is yielding power to the nation’s military, a senior Egyptian government official told CNN.
He said the process — which included dialogue between the government and opposition representatives — for implementing reforms and political transition lacked support and the government was forced to step outside the realm of “constitutional authority.”
“This is not a coup in the traditional sense,” the official said. “But this is a transfer of the system of government from the civilian to military. The military is stepping up, recognizing its responsibility to the Egyptian people.”
“These were all definite and conclusive steps toward a political process under the constitution,” the official said, referring to the effort to implement reforms. “But this political process never received enough support, either from the crowd of the international community. Now we have to go outside the constitutional frame.”
Mubarak met with Vice President Omar Suleiman and Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in closed-door talks Thursday night, state television said.
—End Update—
Reuters is constantly updating this feed: Unrest in Egypt.
Via: Wall Street Journal:
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to announce he will step aside Thursday evening, the head of the country’s ruling party said, conceding the main demand of protesters that are gathering to cheer in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
