Bangladesh life: Egyptian President Mubarak will stand down

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Tuesday 1st February, 2011

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak addresses the nation on Egyptian State TV Photo: REUTERS
President Mubarak, the authoritarian leader of Egypt, has announced in a national address that he will not run in upcoming elections.

Mubarak told his country that "as your president" he must uphold peace and stability first and foremost, and therefore could not stand down immediately.

However, he made it clear that he would not run in September's national elections, clearing the way for a new president and possibly a new government.

The speech was greeted with jubilation in the streets of Cairo, but protestors remain in the streets, calling for his immediate resignation.

Opposition activists have said that he has no other option but to leave before September, with many saying he will need to get on a plane like Tunisia's Ben Ali.

Mubarak's address had the tone of a president at the end of his time in office.

He looked back on his time in office and seemed to attempt to explain his presidency, saying that he'd "come to power under difficult circumstances" and that he'd "never intended to be a dictator".

He promised to work in his "remaining months as president" to ensure that their would be a "peaceful transition".

This latest development in the Egyptian political crisis that has brought the country to a standstill and rocked international markets, effectively gives protestors the victory they had sought.

The reaction on the ground, however, has been anti-clamatic, with the many thousands of protestors chanting "we wont leave".

They want Mubarak out of office immediately. According to BBC World's correspondents in Cairo, the consensus seems to be that if he'd made this announcement a week ago, it would have paved the way for a change over.

Now, however, it's too little too late.

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