Egypt interim premier says cabinet reshuffle limited

Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi says a cabinet reshuffle will be limited to some ministerial changes.

In a press conference in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Beblawi said the current government was founded for the transitional phase and that the remaining time does not require new cabinet ministers.

“There is a need for a limited ministerial reshuffle in the cabinet that won’t be big,” Beblawi stated.

The interim Egyptian prime minister added that there are currently two vacancies in the cabinet and that the number would be three should Defense Minister General Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi run for the presidential election due in six months.

On January 30, Ziad Bahaa-Eldin resigned from the post of minister of international cooperation in protest against Sisi’s candidacy. In December 2013, the minister of military production, General Reda Hafiz, passed away.

Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces gave Sisi the green light to run for presidency on January 27. High-ranking military officials have described the move as a mandate and an obligation requested by broad masses of the public.

On July 3, 2013, the army ousted Mohamed Morsi, who was the first democratically-elected president of Egypt.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood accuses Sisi of staging a coup against Morsi, blaming the military council for authorizing the “coup leader” to run for president.

The Brotherhood said the military has long dominated political life in Egypt and should stay away from politics altogether.