Army-mandated Adli Mansour sworn in as Egypt’s interim president

The chief justice of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, has been sworn in as interim president of Egypt.

“I swear to preserve the system of the republic, and respect the constitution and law, and guard the people’s interests,” Mansour said on Thursday as he took the oath of office at a ceremony in the Supreme Constitutional Court building in the capital, Cairo.

During his speech, army-mandated Mansour hailed the military and police in dealing with the political crisis facing the country.

Late Wednesday, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the head of Egypt’s army, announced that President Mohamed Morsi was no longer in office during a speech on state television.

Sisi said Morsi, who is Egypt’s first freely elected president, had “failed to meet the demands of the people.”

Adli Mansour vowed to lead a “modern, constitutional, national and civil country.”

Mansour went on to say that the Muslim Brotherhood is a “part of the nation” and invited the party to “share in building the country.”

Having served as deputy head of the Supreme Constitutional Court since 1992, Mansour was named chief of the court in May 2013 and took up his post on July 1.

Mansour also suspended the country’s constitution, saying that new parliamentary elections will be held.

Following the speech by Sisi, police began arresting key presidential aides and the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi’s ouster came after days of massive anti-government protests across the country.

A senior Egyptian army official said on Thursday that Morsi is being held “preventively” by the military.

“He (Morsi) is being held preventively for final preparations,” said the army official, whose name was not mentioned in the reports.

Morsi might face formal charges over accusations made by his opponents, the official stated.