Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is continuing to defend his edict declaring himself to have unchecked power subject to no oversight today, saying that Egyptians overwhelmingly support the idea.

In an interview, Morsi claimed that between 80 and 90 percent of the nation supported his decree, and reiterated that it was temporary at any rate. Indeed that does seem to be the case, as a new constitution actually defining presidential powers could be in place in a matter of months.

The claims of support don’t seem to be backed by any publicly released polls, and massive protests over the past few days suggest the move was far from non-controversial. Still, the constitution moots the entire issue, so it can only theoretically last so long.

Pro-Morsi demonstrations are planned in Cairo on Saturday, hoping to avoid a clash with anti-Morsi rallies to come on Friday.

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