CAIRO, Nov 23, 2012 (AFP)
CAIRO, Nov 23, 2012 (AFP)
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told supporters on Thursday that Egypt was on the path to “freedom and democracy,” a day after he assumed sweeping powers in a move critics said made him a dictator.
“Political stability, social stability and economic stability are what I want and that is what I am working for,” he told an Islamist rally outside the presidential palace.
Secular opponents staged a rival rally in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to denounce Morsi’s power grab.
“I have always been, and still am, and will always be, God willing, with the pulse of the people, what the people want, with clear legitimacy” he said from a podium before thousands of supporters.
Earlier, MENA news agency quoted him as saying: “No one can stop our march forward… I am performing my duty to please God and the nation and I take decisions after I consult with everyone.”