Power decree will be overturned when new constitution is in place: Morsi

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi says he will surrender his new special powers when a new constitution is in place as clashes between riot police and protesters continue in the country.

His remarks were published in an interview with Times magazine on Wednesday.

Morsi called on the Egyptians as well as the international community to be patient as he takes the country through this transitional period.

“My chief responsibility is to maintain the national ship to go through this transitional period. This is not easy. Egyptians are determined to [move] forward within the path of freedom and democracy,” he said.

Morsi is expected to address the nation on a decree, which expands his powers and places him beyond judicial oversight.

The Egyptian president’s controversial decree, which prohibits courts from challenging his decisions, has triggered massive demonstrations against him in the North African country. A number of the protests turned violent as clashes erupted between security forces and outraged demonstrators.

Protesters are furious at the constitutional decree that Morsi issued on November 22, allowing the president to “issue any decision or law that is final and not subject to appeal” and placing him beyond judicial review.

On Wednesday, riot police fired tear gas to disperse several hundred Egyptian protesters, who had spent the night at Cairo’s Tahrir Square a day after another mass protest rally.

An Egyptian protester lost his life and about 100 people were injured after clashes broke out in Cairo on Tuesday.

Clashes also raged through the night between supporters and opponents of the president in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla al-Kubra and the northern city of Port Said.

According to medical sources, at least 132 people were wounded in Mahalla al-Kubra and 27 others were injured in Port Said during Tuesday’s protests.

In the wake of ongoing anti-government protests, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has also announced that the party will hold a demonstration in the capital Cairo on Saturday to defend Morsi’s decree.