Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has assumed sweeping new powers, drawing criticism that he is seeking to become a “new pharaoh”.
The new powers are a blow to the pro-democracy movement that formed before long-term president Hosni Mubarak was ousted and they raise questions about the gains made in last year’s uprising.
Opposition forces denounced the declaration as a “coup” and called for nationwide protests on Friday.
“The president can issue any decision or measure to protect the revolution,” according to a decree read out on television by presidential spokesman Yasser Ali.
“The constitutional declarations, decisions and laws issued by the president are final and not subject to appeal.”
“This is a coup against legitimacy … We are calling on all Egyptians to protest in all of Egypt’s squares on Friday,” said Sameh Ashour, head of the lawyers syndicate.
They accused Mr Morsi, an Islamist, of “monopolising all three branches of government” and of overseeing “the total execution of the independence of the judiciary”.
Nobel laureate and former UN atomic energy agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei had earlier lashed out at the declaration, which would effectively put the president above judicial oversight.
“Morsi today usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh. A major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences,” Mr ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account.
The head of the influential Judge’s Club, Ahmed al-Zind, told a press conference that the judges would hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to decide on their next step, promising “actions, not words”.
Mr Morsi also sacked prosecutor general Abdel Meguid Mahmud, whom he failed to oust last month amid strong misgivings among the president’s supporters about the failure to secure convictions of more members of the old regime.
He appointed Talaat Ibrahim Abdallah to replace Mr Mahmud and, within minutes of the announcement, the new prosecutor was shown on television being sworn in.
Mr Abdullah later issued a brief statement on state television, pledging to “work day and night to achieve the goals of the revolution”.
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