Egypt vice-president resigns
Cairo, 22 Dec - (ANA) - Egypt's vice-president has resigned, on the day the country completed its voting in a controversial referendum on a draft constitution. Mahmoud Mekki, a former judge who was appointed vice-president in August, said the "nature of politics" did not suit his professional background. Polls have now closed in the second leg of the referendum, which is widely expected to approve the draft. However, opponents say this will not end the country's unrest. They say the constitution favours Islamists and betrays the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak last year. President Mohammed Morsi and his supporters say the document will secure democracy. Late on Saturday, state television announced that the central bank governor, Farouq al-Uqdah, had also resigned from his post. However, a cabinet official later denied the report. Mr Mekki announced his resignation just hours before the end of voting in the second round of the referendum. He said, in a statement read on television: "I realised a while ago that the nature of politics does not suit my professional background as a judge." Mr Mekki, 58, said he had tried to resign on 7 November but that circumstances had forced him to remain. The Israeli conflict in Gaza and President Morsi's controversial decree on 22 November granting himself sweeping new powers delayed his decision. Mr Mekki's resignation statement indicated he had no prior knowledge of the decree, which stripped the judiciary of powers to question the president's decisions.(ANA)
FA/ANA/22 December 2012---------