The Egyptian government resigned Saturday amid a corruption investigation, announced the office of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
Coming just days after the arrest of the country's agriculture minister over corruption, Sissi's office said the president has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and his cabinet, though it will continue serving until a new body is appointed, reported BBC.
Less than an hour after the resignations, outgoing Energy Minister Sherif Ismail was appointed as the country's new prime minister and tasked with assembling the new cabinet, according to UPI.
Media reports have been circulating about an impending reshuffle designed to "pump new blood" into the government since Monday, when Agriculture Minister Salah Helai resigned and was promptly arrested. He and other cabinet members have been accused of requesting and receiving more than $1 million in bribes from a businessman, through an intermediary, to legalize the purchase of state property, according to AFP.
The government said only Helai and his chief of staff had been implicated in the corruption case.
Some have called for Mehleb's resignation over a new law that taxes bonuses and centralizes promotions.
"The main reason was the president was displeased with the job of some ministers, and his feeling that the government wasn't achieving what he wanted, especially in light of complaints by citizens regarding services," said Mostafa Kamel al-Sayyed, a Cairo University political science professor, reported AFP.
After long delays, Egypt is set to hold parliamentary elections between Oct. 17 and Dec. 2, which have been described as the final step in delivering true democracy to the Arab world's most populous country.
Sissi previously served as army chief and led the ousting of Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013 after protesters called for his resignation.
Sissi promised political stability and economic prosperity and was elected president, however, he then cracked down on large-scale political unrest in the country and drew criticism from human rights groups for allegedly silencing opposition.
