Egypt Parliament Poised to Oust Junta-Appointed PM, Cabinet

Vote of No Confidence Expected Soon

Leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt say that the parliament, led by the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), is poised to pass a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri and his cabinet.

The vote is aimed at ousting a government appointed by the military junta ahead of parliamentary elections, though officials say that under the current junta-rule system the parliament’s vote would be non-binding.

Ganzouri took the position in late November with a promise of more authority than the previous “interim” prime ministers were given, but his historical ties with the Mubarak regime has made many suspicious of his cabinet, and in the wake of a landslide parliament victory for the FJP, they are expecting to be allowed to form their own government.

It will be interesting to see how the junta reacts to the move. Early in the voting they were seen extremely hostile to the FJP, promising to cut parliament out of decision making for not being “representative” enough, but recently reports are that they are warming to the moderate Islamist faction.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.