Cairo (CNN) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy
on Wednesday offered to form an interim coalition government until
parliamentary elections can be held and the constitution can be amended.
"The presidency's vision
includes the formation of a coalition government that would manage the
upcoming parliamentary electoral process, and the formation of an
independent committee for constitutional amendments to submit to the
upcoming parliament," he said in a posting on his Facebook page.
"The presidency blames for the most part a number of political parties that boycotted all calls for dialogue."
It added, "To protect the
blood of Egyptians, the presidency calls on all political and national
forces to prioritize national interest above all other interests."
Morsy noted that hundreds of thousands of supporters and protesters had packed plazas around the country.
"One of the mistakes I
cannot accept -- as the president of all Egyptians -- is to side with
one party over another, or to present the scene from one side only. To
be fair, we need to listen to the voice of people in all squares."
He urged that his countrymen be allowed to express their opinions through the ballot box.
The posting came as the
nation's first democratically elected president and his supporters were
facing off against demonstrators who had packed public spaces around the
country to demonstrate their opposition to his government.
Whether his statement would suffice to stave off military intervention was not immediately clear.
Coup allegation
But an aide to Morsy, Essam al Haddad, said in a Facebook posting that a coup was under way.
"For the sake of Egypt
and for historical accuracy, let's call what is happening by its real
name: military coup," said al Haddad, who works in the office of the
assistant to the president on foreign relations.
"Today, only one thing
matters. In this day and age, no military coup can succeed in the face
of sizable popular force without considerable bloodshed. Who among you
is ready to shoulder that blame?"
He added, "In a
democracy, there are simple consequences for the situation we see in
Egypt: The president loses the next election or his party gets penalized
in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Anything else is mob rule."
On Tuesday night, Morsy
had vowed that he would not comply with an ultimatum delivered Monday by
the military demanding that he enter into a power-sharing agreement.
"There is no alternative
to the constitutional legitimacy and to the constitution," he said in a
televised address. "I will not allow for anyone to say things that will
violate this legitimacy or to take steps that will shake up it up."
He added: "If the price
of upholding this legitimacy is my own blood, I am, therefore, ready to
sacrifice my blood for this country and its stability."
He demanded the military withdraw its ultimatum and return to its barracks.
On Wednesday afternoon,
the Interior Ministry said in a statement that it was determined to
maintain order. "The police force stands side by side with the armed
forces in protecting the country and the citizens," it said.
Reports of a TV studio takeover
Reuters and several
other news organizations reported that Egyptian troops had "secured the
central Cairo studios of state television" as the deadline approached
and that staff not working on live shows had departed.
CNN has not confirmed
the reports; state television denied in an on-air banner that there was
any additional military presence at its studios.
Massive demonstrations
for and against the former Muslim Brotherhood leader who was elected to
office a year ago have been largely peaceful.
But 23 people died,
health officials said, and hundreds more were injured in clashes
overnight at Cairo University, the state-funded Al-Ahram news agency
reported.
Protest leaders have called for nonviolence.
Egypt's military met
Wednesday with religious, national, political and youth leaders to
address the crisis, Egyptian military spokesman Ahmed Ali said through
his Facebook page.
Hours earlier, an opposition spokesman accused the United States of propping up Morsy out of concern for neighboring Israel.
"The hour of victory is
coming," said Mahmoud Badr of the Tamarod opposition group. He predicted
that the "illegitimate president" would be gone by the end of the day.
"Not America, not Morsy, not anyone can impose their will on the Egyptian people," Badr said.
Switching sides
With the ultimatum, the armed forces appeared to have thrown their weight behind those opposed to Morsy's Islamic government.
Early Wednesday,
soldiers and police set up a perimeter around the opposition's central
meeting point, Cairo's Tahrir Square, "to secure it from any possible
attack," the state-run EgyNews agency reported.
It was the police who,
on the same spot in 2011, killed hundreds when they fired upon
democratic, moderate and Islamic demonstrators seeking to overthrow
Hosni Mubarak, the country's longtime autocratic leader and U.S. ally.
Mubarak had long
repressed the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic political movement that
emerged as the nation's most powerful political force once Mubarak was
ousted.
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