The head of Egypt’s
constitutional court promised early elections as he was sworn in as
interim president after the military ousted the country’s first
democratically elected leader.
The army said Adli Mansour will oversee a technocratic
government that will prepare the elections but no timetable has been
given for the process. His challenge will be to revive Egypt’s faltering
economy while maintaining harmony in the deeply-divided nation.
Shares
on Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 index surged 6.4 per cent at Thursday’s
opening, its largest jump in more than a year, triggering a suspension
of trading. The market continued to rise after trading resumed.
Bond prices rose as traders expressed relief at the largely
peaceful removal of the Islamist leader. The yield on the government’s
7-year bond, which moves in the opposite direction to the price, fell 28
basis points to 10.49 per cent.
Mr Mansour said after taking the oath of office that Mohamed
Morsi’s ousting was “to correct the path of the glorious
revolution . . . and gather the people together without discrimination”.
“It was an expression of the conscience of the nation, the
expression of its ambition and aspiration,” he said in a short speech,
adding that the “early parliamentary and presidential elections” would
be conducted “according to the will of the people”.
“This is the only safe way to a better tomorrow, to more freedom and more justice.”
Mr Mansour described the armed forces, to warm applause, as “the conscience of our nation and fortress of our security”.
It is unclear how Mr Morsi’s supporters will react to Mr
Mansour’s appointment since their leader was removed after just twelve
months in office. Violent clashes overnight between Mr Morsi’s
supporters and opponents claimed the lives of 10 people.
A spokesman for Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood organisation,
Gehad al-Haddad, told the Reuters news agency on Thursday that the
ousted president was being held at the defence ministry.
Senior Brotherhood leaders were arrested, including Saad
El-Katatni, head of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and
former speaker of parliament, and Rashad al-Bayoumi, one of the
Brotherhood’s deputy leaders, the Mena state news agency reported.