Qandil unveils initiative aimed at resolving Egypt crisis

Former premier Hisham Qandil on Thursday unveiled an initiative aimed at resolving Egypt's ongoing political crisis, triggered early this month by the military's ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi. Qandil's three-point initiative is based on "a commitment to legitimacy and listening to the people's voice at every step." It calls for easing tensions between all parties, agreeing on principles aimed at fostering national reconciliation, and discussing a new roadmap for Egypt's short-term political future. In video footage aired by Al Jazeera's live Egypt channel, Qandil said that the first phase of the initiative called for the release of all those detained since June 30; freezing all legal cases against politicians; allowing a delegation to visit the detained ousted president; ceasing all media incitement; and temporarily halting all political demonstrations. The second phase of the initiative, he said, calls for working to preserve Egypt's unity, giving the people a chance to express their positions, and preventing the collapse of state institutions. The third phase of Qandil's initiative calls for discussions over a new roadmap out of the current crisis, a commitment to constitutional legitimacy and listening to the people at every step. Egypt has been in the throes of political crisis since the army ousted Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, on July 3 after mass protests against his regime. Under an army-imposed roadmap for the post-Morsi era, the constitution was suspended and the head of Egypt's constitutional court was installed as interim president. Since Morsi's ouster, thousands of his supporters have been staging daily demonstrations to defend his democratic legitimacy and demand his reinstatement. Qandil said that Morsi had unveiled a plan similar to that unveiled later by army chief and Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. "But al-Sisi added two additional articles: the president's ouster and suspending the constitution," Qandil noted. Qandil added that Morsi had been keen to build democratic institutions in Egypt and expedite the process of national development. He said that the ousted president had shown flexibility regarding a proposed referendum on whether he should complete his four-year term as president. "But he believed the time wasn't right for holding the referendum in light of the current state of polarization, preferring to hold it after parliamentary elections," he said.