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Arab uprising: Country by country - Egypt

December 2013

Egypt has witnessed the overthrow of two presidents since the start of the Arab Spring.

Eighteen days of mass protests forced longtime president Hosni Mubarak to resign in February 2011.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) assumed presidential powers until elections were held. In June 2012, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi was elected president. He took undemocratic steps, including overturning a controversial Scaf decree that limited his powers, dissolving the House of Representatives and changing the military's leadership.

The people objected to the passage of an Islamist-leaning draft constitution. Protests arose and Morsi was deposed by the military in June 2013. Security forces then launched a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

In December 2013, a constituent assembly finished drafting a new constitution to replace the 2012 charter.

Where are we now?

Egypt is split between supporters of the military and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Some analysts say Egypt has returned to the kind of police state that prompted the Arab Spring revolution.

Armed forces chief General Sisi was elected president in 2014.


Source: Arab uprising: Country by country - Egypt
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