President Mohamed Morsy has left the “national dialogue” meeting, delegating it to Vice President Mahmoud Mekky, in order to ensure its neutrality.

Sources from the president’s office told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Morsy will not take part in the meting in order“to ensure neutrality and freedom of discussion between representatives of political forces without [the] embarrassment of the president’s presence.”

A number of public figures and party leaders arrived at the presidential palace Saturday afternoon to participate in the president’s dialogue, which aims to find a way out of the current political crisis.

Divisions have deepened between political forces in Egypt after Morsy issued his constitutional declaration on 22 November giving himself broad powers beyond judicial review and his decision to schedule a 15 December referendum on a hastily-written constitution.

Dialogue attendees include Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Ghad al-Thawra Party head Ayman Nour, Constituent Assembly head Hossam al-Ghariani, Wasat Party President Abul Ela Mady and Vice President Essam Sultan, prominent lawyer Montasser al-Zayyat, former presidential candidate Mohamed Selim al-Awa, Islamist writer Fahmy Howaidy and preacher Amr Khaled.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm