Egyptian premier refuses to reveal name of new interior minister

Dec 6, 2011, 19:28 GMT

Cairo - Egyptian Prime Minister-designate Kamal al-Ganzouri said that the country's new government will likely to be sworn in on Wednesday, but refused to disclose the name of the new interior minister, a key post in the new administration.

Many activists have been calling for a civil minister for the interior portfolio, rather than a senior police officer. They have been demanding the replacement of the outgoing minister Mansour al-Eissawy, since he was appointed earlier this year after a popular revolt forced former president Hosny Mubarak out of power.

'The interior minister will be unveiled when is sworn in,' al-Ganzouri told a press conference in Cairo on Tuesday.

Relations between some sections of society and the police have deteriorated over the recent years, due to continuous use of force by security forces to disperse anti-Mubarak protesters.

Al-Ganzouri said that new ministers include Mumtaz al-Saeed for the finance portfolio and Ahmed Anis for the information ministry.

Around a dozen ministers will keep their posts, including foreign affairs minister Mohamed Kamel Amr.

On Tuesday, al-Ganzouri promised he will never use force against protesters camping outside cabinet headquarters in central Cairo, near the iconic Tahrir square. Dozens of people have been protesting for around 10 days against his appointment by the ruling military council.

They rejected al-Ganzouri because of his ties to the Mubarak regime. He served as a prime minister from 1996 to 1999.

The military junta have said previously that al-Ganzouri will be granted presidential powers, after amending the interim constitution, without extending to powers over the judiciary or the armed forces.

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces appointed al-Ganzouri to replace outgoing premier Essam Sharaf, who resigned after 42 people were killed in countrywide clashes between protesters and police in November.

The clashes were the worst since the January 25 revolution, which led to the fall of Mubarak. Egypt has seen renewed protests, with activists pushing for the military to speed up the transfer of power to a civilian government.