Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), said Sunday that he will not accept any outside pressure on the ruling military council.
Tantawi's remarks came as a blatant challenge to the demands voiced by protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square pressuring the SCAF to hand over power to a civilian government.
In a statement to the state-run MENA news agency, Tantawi stressed that the military's position in the new constitution will remain unchanged.
Parliamentary elections will start on 28 November as scheduled, Tantawi emphasized. The Egyptian state TV website quoted him as saying he will not allow any individual or group to exert pressure on the armed forces.
Tantawi said that securing the electoral process will be the full responsibility of the armed forces and the Interior Ministry.
Tantawi also revealed that he had met with presidential candidates Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa on Saturday at the pair's request to discuss the country's current political situation.
A document of supra-constitutional principles proposed by now-resigned deputy Prime Minister Ali al-Selmy had sparked controversy as it gave the army a special position and vast authority in the next constitution. That authority would include the army's right to interfere in political life since it would be the guarantor of constitutional legitimacy, as well as deny the parliament the ability to review the military budget.
