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    July 21, 2011

Egypt Swears In New Cabinet

   Al Pessin
   An Egyptian girl walks under slogans supporting the protest at Tahrir
   Square, the focal point of the Egyptian uprising where protesters have
   been demanding a faster pace of reforms, in Cairo, Egypt, July 18, 2011
   Photo: AP
   An Egyptian girl walks under slogans supporting the protest at Tahrir
   Square, the focal point of the Egyptian uprising where protesters have
   been demanding a faster pace of reforms, in Cairo, Egypt, July 18, 2011

   Egypt swore in a newly reshuffled cabinet on Thursday, in the wake of
   almost two weeks of protests in which demonstrators have demanded a
   faster pace of reforms.
   The ceremony had been postponed from Monday after Prime Minister Essam
   Sharaf became ill.
   There are at least 14 new ministers in the 27-member cabinet, including
   those for foreign affairs and finance.
   Reformists have been pressing the country's interim military rulers to
   speed up the pace of purging and prosecuting officials from former
   President Hosni Mubarak's government, who are blamed for violence and
   corruption.
   Some demonstrators have camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square to press
   their demands.
   On Wednesday, the ruling military council announced it would not allow
   international observers to monitor upcoming elections. General Mamdouh
   Shaheen said that barring foreign monitors was necessary to protect
   Egypt's sovereignty.
   He told reporters in Cairo that the parliamentary vote will be held
   before the end of the year and that the military would set an exact
   date after September 18. Shaheen said the upcoming election would take
   place in three stages and that 15-day periods would separate each
   round.
   The general said the staggered vote would ensure judges are able to
   thoroughly monitor the polling.
   In a notable change from elections held under Mubarak, he said the
   judiciary would oversee the process, not the Interior Ministry, which
   many Egyptians say often fixed the vote to help the ruling party.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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References

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