Egypt sets timetable for elections

The Egyptian constitution is expected to be amended within four months, after which parliamentary polls and then presidential election will be held, a presidential political adviser said Wednesday.

"The new parliament will be elected within two months after the constitution is amended. One week after the new parliament convenes, the presidential election will be called," Mostafa Hegazi, the political adviser to interim President Adli Mansour, told reporters in a press conference.

Hegazi noted that there will be a new state institution to facilitate the transitional justice and reconciliation process.

"For this reason, we have a new minister for transitional justice and reconciliation and we will have a transitional justice commission," said Hegazi, adding that the reconciliation process will be based on justice and law.

Hegazi stressed that the arrests of some Muslim Brotherhood leading members were in accordance with legal procedures on charges of inciting violence and others.

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday staged mass protests in rejection of the new interim government and in support of Morsi's legitimacy.

Some of Morsi's loyalists rallied to the cabinet premises near downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square, where heavy security forces were deployed, the state-run news agency MENA reported.

The protesters described the new leadership in Egypt as illegitimate and asked for Morsi's return.

The protests came a day after the new cabinet headed by interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi was sworn in.

The new cabinet, part of a roadmap introduced by the army and the opposition after ousting Morsi on July 3, is mainly liberal without Islamists, after the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Salafist al-Nour Party refused to join.

Essam al-Erian, FJP's deputy chief, has said he considers the newly-formed government "a gift by the coup leaders to their partners."

The new cabinet took the oath of office in the wake of deadly clashes that erupted late Monday between supporters and opponents of Morsi that killed at least seven and injured over 260.

He also denied claims that Mohamed ElBradei, Vice President for Foreign Relations, started his job with a visit to Israel.

In addition, he said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, during his recent visit to Egypt, did not ask the Egyptian authorities to release ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Hegazi stressed that there will be no exclusion, isolation or alienation of any political party, pointing out that the state will not take any exceptional procedures against the Brotherhood's continuous protests.