Egypt has power transfer plan

Almaty. February 9. Kazakhstan Today - Vice President of Egypt Omar Suleiman has said the Egyptian government has a pan for the peaceful transfer of power, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Egypt has a plan and timetable for the peaceful transfer of power, the vice president said on Tuesday, as protesters called more demonstrations hoping to show their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak remains potent, Reuters reported.

With signs growing the government may be gaining the upper hand in the struggle for power, Vice President Omar Suleiman also promised no reprisals against the protesters for their two-week campaign to eject Mubarak after 30 years in office.

"A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realize the peaceful and organized transfer of power," said Suleiman, Mubarak's long-time intelligence chief who has led talks with opposition groups including the Muslim Brotherhood - Mubarak's sworn enemy.

So far, the government has conceded little ground in the talks. The embattled 82-year-old president, who has promised to stand down when his term expires in September, appears to be weathering the storm engulfing Egypt, at least for the moment.

Negotiations that brought together the government and opposition factions took place this week under the gaze of a giant portrait of Mubarak.

"The president welcomed the national consensus, confirming that we are putting our feet on the right path to getting out of the current crisis," Suleiman said in comments broadcast by state television, after briefing Mubarak on the talks.

Hundreds of thousands have joined previous demonstrations and the United Nations says 300 people may have died so far. But many in a country where about 40 percent of people live on less than $2 a day are desperate to return to work and normal life, even some of those wanting to oust Mubarak.

Some normality is returning to Cairo. Traffic was bumper to bumper in the city center on Tuesday and queues quickly built up at banks, which are still open only for restricted hours.

While opposition groups talk to Suleiman, mainly younger protesters called for a push to remove Mubarak as the authorities tried to squeeze them out of central Cairo.

Suleiman promised that the harassment of protesters would end. "The president emphasized that Egypt's youth deserve the appreciation of the nation and issued a directive to prevent them being pursued, harassed or having their right to freedom of expression taken away," he said.

Tuesday's demonstrations will test the protesters' ability to maintain pressure on the government. Those camped out in tents on Tahrir Square have vowed to stay until Mubarak quits, and plan more mass demonstrations on Tuesday and Friday.

The release of a Google Inc executive, Wael Ghonim, after two weeks in which he said he was kept blindfolded by Egyptian state security may galvanize support. Activists say the Egyptian was behind a Facebook group that helped to inspire the protests.

The Muslim Brotherhood, by far the best organized opposition group, said on Monday it could quit the process if protesters' demands were not met, including the immediate exit of Mubarak.

U.S. President Barack Obama, however, said the talks were making progress. "Obviously, Egypt has to negotiate a path and they're making progress," he told reporters in Washington.

Protesters worry that when Mubarak does leave, he will be replaced not by the democracy they seek but by another authoritarian ruler. Many young men in Tahrir Square on Monday dismissed the political dialogue taking place.

The opposition has been calling for the constitution to be rewritten to allow free and fair presidential elections, a limit on presidential terms, the dissolution of parliament, the release of political detainees and lifting of emergency law.

The Telegraph informs that under Egypt's constitution, elections would be triggered within 60 days of Mr Mubarak standing down, a time-frame that would be insufficient to make the legislative changes needed to allow genuine opposition candidates to run in the poll.

Such provisions could be bypassed, however, if Mr Mubarak ceded power to his vice president - which was why he avoided having one until last month - and either stay on as a figurehead, an option seemingly favoured by the West or go immediately, a course supported by many protesters.

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