Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman and opposition leaders agreed to study constitutional changes, with the Muslim Brotherhood saying President Hosni Mubarak should remain in his job to speed the pace of amendments.
Suleiman, who met with the Wafd and Tagammu parties, as well as with the Muslim Brotherhood and billionaire Naguib Sawiris, may name a committee of 25 people today to prepare amendments, said Nabil Zaki, Tagammu party spokesman. The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition faction, said they are willing to allow Mubarak to stay while changes are considered. Suleiman ruled himself out of presidential contention during an interview on Sunday.
“It’s safer that the president stays until he makes these amendments to speed things up because of the constitutional powers he holds,” Mohamed Saad El-Katatni, a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said in a telephone interview. “We accept this arrangement as long as we feel there is a serious implementation.”
As many as 300 people have died since clashes started on January 25, according to the United Nations. Oil prices and Egyptian credit-default swaps fell on February 4 as the White House-backed talks got under way. Egypt’s courts also resumed hearings.
Protests subsiding The group said they would form a committee to oversee progress, according to a cabinet statement distributed to reporters in Cairo today. They also agreed to defend freedom of the press, reject foreign intervention and lift the long-standing state of emergency should the security situation permit it.
“The events in Egypt seem to be subsiding a bit,” said Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. Still, “protests could come back to the same height if the demands aren’t met in a timely manner.”
Opposition groups, including the socialist Tagammu party, the largest opposition group in parliament, and the Wafd party, want the government to ease constitutional curbs that make it difficult for independents to run for president. Both parties met yesterday with Suleiman. Elections are due in September.
Protesters sheltered in tents from rain overnight in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square, the focal point of protests.
