CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt’s president set parliamentary elections to begin in April - a decision that an opposition leader denounced Friday as “a recipe for disaster” because of the ongoing political turmoil in the country.
About 15,000 people took to the streets in the Suez Canal city of Port Said to demonstrate against President Mohammed Morsi, hanging effigies of him in the main square. Residents have been on a general strike for six days, demanding punishment for what they considered a heavy-handed police crackdown during unrest in the city.
Morsi scheduled the staggered, four-stage voting process to begin April 27 and end in June. The newly elected parliament would convene on July 6, according to a decree issued late Thursday night.
He hopes the election will end the political turmoil that has beset Egypt for the past two years since the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.
But Mohamed ElBaradei, who leads one of the main opposition groups, the National Salvation Front, wrote on his Twitter account Friday that Morsi’s “decision to go for parliamentary electionsamidst severe societal polarization and eroding state authority is a recipe for disaster.”
The National Salvation Front accuses Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters of monopolizing power and reneging on campaign promises to set up an inclusive government that introduces far-reaching legislation.
Factory workers, activists and laborers in Port Said have held street rallies that brought the city on the northern tip of the Suez Canal to a halt, although shipping in the international waterway has not been affected.
Port Said commentator Sayid Azab said the city opposes Morsi’s timetable for the parliamentary vote.
“Everyone is rejecting the elections and asking how they can take place in the absence of stability,” he said.
Civil disobedience in Port Said has stopped work at the foreign-run Suez Canal Container Terminal. Managing director Klaus Hol Laursan said 2,000 workers have beenunable to reach the terminal for four days because of protesters blocking the street, and the army has been unable to help.
The political unrest has hit Egypt’s foreign currency reserves, which have fallen below a critical level to less than $14 billion. The country is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a nearly $5 billion loan that would shore up confidence again in the country’s economy and free up other loan requests. Insiders say talks have been prolonged because of Morsi’s reluctance to implement unpopular austerity measures ahead of elections.
Abdullah Shehata, an economic expert with the Brotherhood, declined comment on when austerity measures could be implemented, but said the elections will help the country’s ailing economy.
In Cairo, the opposition party led by former Mubarak rival Ayman Nour said its offices were torched and stormed by masked gunmen Friday. Speaking to the staterun Ahram Arabic website, the group said the men stole documents and videotapes before setting it ablaze.
The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party was undeterred by criticism of Morsi’s election announcement. The party’s deputy, Essam el-Erian, was quoted on the group’s Facebook page as saying that he hopes the upcoming parliament will be “diverse” and include Islamists, liberals and leftists. He also warned against a boycott.
“Everyone understands the importance of this stage and that the absence of their voice is a big mistake and will mean a lengthy absence from parliament, its parties and its politics during this stage of building Egypt,” he said.
El-Erian said he expects Islamists to again win about 75 percent of the seats.
In addition, the country’s highest court ruled this week that at least 10 articles in the election law were unconstitutional, and sent them to the upper house of the parliament for amendment, including what it called the “arbitrary” drawing of districts that critics say favored the Brotherhood.
The founder of the opposition April 6 movement said that if the election law is not agreed upon, they will not support participation in elections.
“The election laws have not been agreed upon and this is an essential problem,” Ahmed Maher said.
The unrest has swept over other provinces, too, with diesel shortages in Alexandria and Assiut, as well as strikes in Mahalla.
Port Said protester Mohammed Manae signaled that a parliamentary election could mean more violence.
Information for this article was contributed by Mosaad el-Gohary of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 02/23/2013