CAIRO — A concession offered by President Mohamed Morsi failed to placate opponents who accused him of plunging Egypt deeper into crisis by refusing to postpone a vote on a constitution shaped by Islamists. Islamists say they see the referendum as sealing a democratic transition that began when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago after three decades of military-backed one-man rule. Their liberal, leftist and Christian adversaries say the document being fast-tracked to a vote could threaten freedoms and fails to embrace the diversity of Egypt's 83 million people. More protests were planned near Morsi's palace, despite tanks, barbed wire and other barriers installed last week after clashes between Islamists and their rivals killed seven people. Morsi had given some ground the previous day when he retracted a fiercely contested decree giving himself extra powers and shielding his decisions from judicial review. But the president insisted the constitutional referendum go ahead next Saturday and the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he sprang, urged the opposition to accept the poll's verdict. Ahmed Said, a liberal leader of the main opposition National Salvation Front, described the race to a referendum as “shocking” and an “act of war” against Egyptians. The retraction of Morsi's Nov. 22 decree, announced around midnight after a “national dialogue” boycotted by almost all the president's critics, has not bridged a deep political divide. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, a technocrat with Islamist leanings, said the referendum was the best test of opinion. “The people are the makers of the future as long as they have the freedom to resort to the ballot box in a democratic, free and fair vote,” he said. Investors appeared relieved at Morsi's retraction of his decree, sending Egyptian stocks 4.4 percent higher Sunday. Markets are awaiting approval of a $4.8 billion IMF loan later this month designed to support the budget and economic reforms. The military, which led Egypt's transition for 16 turbulent months after Mubarak fell, told feuding factions Saturday that only dialogue could avert “catastrophe”. But a source said these remarks did not herald an army takeover. — Reuters
