Dozens of protesters flocked to Tahrir Square on Friday morning to participate in a demonstration the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi groups had called for under the banner of "Protecting the Revolution."
The protest is demanding the transfer of power to civilians, the amendment Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration which states that the Presidential Elections Commission’s decisions cannot be appealed and the dismissal of Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri’s cabinet. The demonstrations are also a rejection of the presidential candidacy of former regime officials.
The number of protesters was increasing gradually throughout Friday morning and is expected to increase significantly before prayers at noon with the arrival of protesters from neighboring governorates.
There were intensive preparations for the protest in Tahrir Square on Thursday. Revolutionaries unaffiliated with political movements set up a stage at the entrance of Mohamed Mahmoud Street in order to present videos and poetry about the revolution.
A number of Labor Party members prepared a statement titled "No to changing the date of the power handover" to distribute throughout the day. The statement called on the ruling military council to “stop gambling with the revolution and constitutional legitimacy.”
Some revolutionary forces decided not to participate in the protest, saying that the Brotherhood is trying to rejoin the revolutionaries by calling for demonstrations after it had abandoned the street in past months.
The Free Front for Peaceful Change said that the Brotherhood is attempting to "hijack the demonstrations which revolutionaries call for.”
The group said in a statement Thursday that it would not participate in Friday protest, considering it an attempt to shore up support for the Muslim Brotherhood in its “play of disagreement with the Supreme Council of Armed Forces."
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
