In another dramatic twist in the saga of political upheavals in Egypt, the new leadership wrangled over the choice of liberal leader Mohamed ElBaradei as Prime Minister, even as rallies for and against the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi raised fears of violence.
The rallies raised tension as the new coalition led by interim President Adly Mansour that backed Morsi's ouster wavered over the choice of Nobel Prize laureate ElBaradei as interim prime minister to lead the country out of the bloody crisis.
ElBaradei met with interim President Adly Mansour for two hours yesterday afternoon, and "discussions and consultations are ongoing," presidential adviser Ahmed al-Muslimani said on state-run TV.
"Tomorrow we expect to name the prime minister and the ministers."
He added that ElBaradei was "the logical choice" among a list of names being considered.
If 71-year-old ElBaradei is selected, it would signal a secular shift just days after a military coup ousted nation's first democratically elected president Morsi.
Officials had earlier named ElBaradei, a former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, for the post of Prime Minister. News of his appointment was criticised by the Salafist Nour Party, which said it would not work with him.
Reports of the appointment of ElBaradei caused anger among supporters of Morsi, who want to see him returned to power.
Supporters and opponents of the ousted president planned rival demonstrations today, with the former demanding Morsi's reinstatement and the latter supporting Morsi's overthrow.
A coalition supporting 61-year-old Morsi's reinstatement called for protests today to reject Wednesday's "military coup" by Egyptian Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
The initial reports of ElBaradei's appointment were greeted with cheers in Cairo's Tahrir Square and Ittihadiya presidential palace.
The celebrations came after 24 hours of violence that left 37 people dead and over 1,400 injured.
Security was heightened around the Defense Ministry today as supporters and opponents of ousted President Morsi were expected to stage demonstrations in Rabea al-Adawiya and Tahrir Square.
