Amr Moussa calls for Egypt presidential elections before end of April

Presidential hopeful Amr Moussa has called on Egypt’s ruling military, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), to hand over power to an elected president before the end of April.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, the former Arab League chief said Egypt is enduring unprecedented challenges that might “threaten the stability of the entire nation.”

He was commenting on Wednesday’s deadly football clashes in Port Said which left around 73 dead and scores injured following an Egyptian Premier League game between Cairo giants Ahly and Masry.

“At this time, the citizens of the nation fear for their lives and safety, the revolutionary forces are disappointed over the political path the nation is taking and the old regime is still haunting the country with its mischievous schemes,” he said.

“The time has come to end the current state failure. The extended transitional phase should end.

“Our society stands today on the edge, we should rescue it before it’s too late. Procrastination has to come to an end. We need to move forward."

“Power should be handed over to an elected president by the end of April maximum. That will help give a push to an ailing national economy,” added Moussa, who is widely seen as a frontrunner to become Egypt’s first president following January’s revolution.

Moussa, who said that none of the state authorities is living up to the daunting challenges facing the nation, put forward other proposals for a peaceful exit from the ongoing turmoil.

His suggestions include a thorough reconstruction of the interior ministry and other security bodies, which came in for fierce criticism lately over the heavy-handed tactics they used when confronting protesters.

He also called on parliament to hold a sequence of hearing sessions that “should be put on air so the nation should come to understand the details of the Port Said massacre”.

“The results of the investigations that have been conducted on a series of incidents where Egyptian demonstrators were killed throughout the transitional phase should be also revealed,” Moussa said.