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Egypt army chief meets party leaders after protest

01 October 2011 19:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Egypt’s military chief of staff Sami Enan met party leaders on Saturday, a day after protesters converged on Cairo’s central Tahrir Square to demand reforms, APA reports quoting AFP.

The meeting came hours after scuffles and stone-throwing broke out in Tahrir Square as army troops attempted to remove protesters who wanted to stage a sit-in.

Enan, who is also the number two in the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), met leaders of the Democratic Coalition which groups dozens of parties including the Muslim Brotherhood and the liberal Wafd, a military source told AFP.

In the meeting, the parties called for the abolition of a controversial article in Egypt’s new electoral law and a ban on former regime members from running for public office.

SCAF, which has been in power since president Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February, has said parliamentary elections will start on November 28 and take place over four months.

A presidential election is expected to be held next year.

But the groups which met with Enan on Saturday -- and dozens more -- object to Article 5 of the new law that stipulates two thirds of seats would be on a party list system and one third would see individual candidates running.

On Thursday they threatened a vote boycott unless the controversial article is cancelled, throwing into question the credibility of Egypt’s first post-Mubarak polls.

They also demand the activation of a law that would ban corrupt politicians from running for office for 10 years.

Activists fear the electoral law will help old regime figures to return to parliament.

Under Mubarak, candidates affiliated with his party used patronage or pressure to garner votes.

Activists say a proportional list system would help avoid that because voters would be electing candidates based on a party’s political platform, circumventing candidates’ personal power and influence.

The meeting came a day after thousands flocked to Tahrir to demand an end to military trials of civilians, to call for the cleansing of institutions of former regime remnants, amendment of the electoral law and social justice.

Trouble broke out on Saturday when protesters who said they would stay in the square until their demands are met were removed by security forces and troops, the official MENA news agency reported.

It said several arrests were made after some protesters refused to move and began hurling stones at the security forces. Most groups involved in Friday’s rally had said they would not take part in the sit-in.

Around a dozen protesters were arrested on Friday after around 300 tried to head to the defence ministry but were blocked by military police.

SCAF has repeatedly stressed its commitment to democracy but protesters have been gathering in Tahrir on an almost weekly basis to express their anger and frustration at the military’s handling of the transition.