President Mohamed Morsy decided to reshuffle the Cabinet and replace some of the governors without consulting his advisers, sources from the president’s office and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party said.
Morsy decided to replace six governors, but has not yet decided on whether to replace Local Development Minister Mohamed Ali Beshr, sources said, adding three proposed new ministers are Brotherhood-affiliated.
The sources suggested the president intended to appoint Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah as legal affairs minister. They said the top choices among Freedom and Justice Party figures nominated were Ahmed Hassan, the FJP economic committee member who drafted the Islamic bonds law, to replace Investment Minister Osama Saleh, and Nasser al-Farrash, in charge of petrol issues for Morsy’s presidential campaign, to replace Petroleum Minister Osama Kamal.
The FJP called for replacing Higher Education Minister Mostafa al-Sayed Mossad and is considering nominations for his replacement, as well as that of Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky.
Conflicts are still ongoing in the party over replacing Beshr, as some party leaders demanded he be replaced to satisfy the opposition and quell fears related to the elections process, while others rejected his replacement because he is an FJP figure, sources said.
The FJP also reportedly nominated other figures as governors, including Akram al-Shaer for Port Said, Ashour al-Halawany for Monufiya, Hossam Abu Bakr for Daqahlia and Mahmoud Amer for Giza.
Meanwhile, the Salafi Nour Party announced an urgent meeting for the party’s presidential council to decide on changes made by Morsy and Brotherhood. It also rejected keeping Prime Minister Hesham Qandil in his post, saying he hasn’t accomplished anything during his tenure.
Yasser Borhamy, head of the Salafi Dawah, a hardline Islamist group, said the changes the president’s office announced have no value, being made without consulting opponents, and so changes will not change disputes among political groups.
Borhamy told Al-Masry Al-Youm that both the president’s office and the Brotherhood have the same thought process.
He said his group had called for replacing certain ministers to guarantee the upcoming elections’ integrity, but they will not be replaced.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
