Egypt presidential election to be before parliamentary ballot

Egypt's military-backed government reversed field, saying it would conduct presidential elections before a parliamentary vote, officials said. The next leader looks increasingly likely to be the military's chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who was promoted to field marshal Monday and has indicated he was mulling a bid, several media outlets reported. The decision Sunday to flip the elections and parliamentary vote changes the electoral schedule set by the military after it ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July, putting the nation's next leader in a position to sway voters toward parliamentary candidates he supports, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision also likely will set up clashes with the Muslim Brotherhood, the now-outlawed Islamic group to which Morsi belonged. The Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday called for more demonstrations. "We don't recognize a road map that was brought on top of military tanks against the will of the Egyptian people and in an environment of extreme repression unprecedented in Egypt's history," said spokesman Abdullah el-Haddad. When he announced the changed schedule, Interim President Adly Mansour said the government met "with some of the major political stakeholders and representatives of the different political groups which indicated a majority in favor of holding presidential elections first." Mansour did not announce any dates for the elections. Egypt's constitution calls for a vote within 90 days of the document's ratification. Egypt's amended constitution, overwhelmingly approved by referendum, mandates that, in the absence of a legislative body, the next president would have total legislative powers until parliamentary elections. Once seated, lawmakers would have 15 days to ratify the laws enacted by the president during the interim. On Saturday, the anniversary date of the 2011 revolt that drove out former President Hosni Mubarak, clashes between security forces and protesters left 49 dead and more than 250 injured, officials said. The Journal said Saturday's violence exposed the widening gap in Egypt over the military government's "road map to democracy" that lays out a path for civilian-led rule. While many opponents to the road map aren't aligned otherwise, many Brotherhood supporters and secular-leaning activists have said they oppose Sisi's increased prominence. Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces empowered Sisi to run for president, state-run MENA said. Sources told MENA that Sisi was expected to announce his decision on whether he would run for president as a civilian candidate. Earlier Monday, Mansour issued a presidential decree promoting Sisi from general to field marshal, Ahram Online said.