Cairo: Tamarod “Rebellion” campaign announced on Sunday it had collected more than 2 million signatures throughout Egypt, withdrawing confidence in Mohammad Mursi as president.
Tamarod is a petition campaign launched two weeks ago to gather signatures disapproving of President Mursi. The campaign is also calling for early presidential elections.
In the campaign’s first press conference, held on Sunday, its members announced the two million signatures were collected in 10 days alone. Campaign spokesperson Mahmoud Badr said that the signatures proved that people had started to lose confidence in Mursi.
Tamarod was launched in late April by members of opposition Movement Kefaya. The campaign is aiming to collect 15 million signatures before June 30, the day that will mark Mursi’s one year in power.
“If you are confident about your popularity, hold early presidential elections,” Badr said, addressing President Mursi and his aides.
Campaign members also called on all opposition movements to hold onto their initial decision to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Badr also commented on Minister of Defence Abdul Fatah Al Sissi’s latest statements. The minister said on Saturday that the army was not the solution to the current political issues the country faces, and that it would not resort to policing the streets. He also dismissed the possibility of the military forcefully removing Mursi.
“Our campaign doesn’t call for a military coup,” the Tamarod spokesperson said. “We call on people to turn against the president and withdraw their confidence in him since he betrayed his agreement with the people.”
Meanwhile at Cairo University, campaign members collecting signatures were subjected to harassment by alleged Muslim Brotherhood affiliates. Mahmoud Hussain, campaign coordinator in Giza, said four campaign members were shortly held at a university security office after going to the security officials to complain about the harassment.
Several opposition groups announced their solidarity with the campaign including the April 6 Youth Movement.
— Ayman Sharaf is a journalist based in Cairo
