Organisers of the Tamarod petition campaign against President Mohamed Morsi rejected his presidential election opponent and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq’s declaration of support, stating that they oppose both men and what they stand for.
Shafiq, a former air force commander and civil aviation minister under former President Hosni Mubarak who served briefly as his last prime minister during the 25 January uprising that ousted him, declared on Thursday his support for Tamarod and said he would sign the petition.
“We do not require the support of anyone involved in the killing of protesters and revolutionaries,” read a Tamarod statement in reference to Shafiq’s alleged role regarding the deaths of protesters at the hand of police during the 2011 uprising.
“We are against both Morsi and Shafiq. We are for the millions that took to the streets during the revolution against the conditions created by Mubarak and his regime, conditions that were kept in place by an oppressive regime wearing the cloak of religion,” it added.
The campaign blamed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that took over following Mubarak’s ouster and the Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belongs for the continuation of corruption.
“We will not be dragged into petty political conflicts. Our aim is revolution until the Egyptian people achieve their freedom and dignity.”
Shafiq had announced on Thursday that Tamarod was a good way in exposing Morsi’s “illegitimacy” and that he would sign the petition in support.
Tamarod, founded by members of the Kefaya movement that opposed Mubarak, is a petition-based campaign aiming to withdraw confidence and popular legitimacy from Morsi.
Its organisers aim to gather 15 million signatures, more than the 13 million who voted for Morsi in the second round of presidential elections, in time for 30 June in an effort to pressure him into calling for early presidential elections.
Organisers announced on Sunday that they had already collected 2,029,592 signatures nationwide.
