In a surprise move on Monday, Egypt's interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi announced that he and his cabinet are resigning, according to the Associated Press.
Addressing the nation on television, Beblawi said his government over the past seven months made every effort to get Egypt out of the "narrow tunnel" in terms of security, economic and political pressures but did not cite any reason for the resignation, the AP reported.
The Prime Minister and his cabinet will remain in their posts in a caretaker capacity until the president picks a prime minister to form a new Cabinet., according to the AP.
The state-run newspaper al-Ahram reports that Mansour touts Housing Minister Ibrahim Mahleb as the next Prime Minster, the AP reported.
Beblawi, a well known economist who supported the ouster of former dictator Hosni Mubarek in 2011, was nominated interim prime minister a week after military ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 following mass protests, according to the AP.
Beblawi also Commented on the flurry of strikes and cautioned Egyptians that this was not the time for making demands, the AP reported.
"We must sacrifice our personal and narrow interests for the benefit of the nation," Beblawi said, according to the AP.
The mass resignation of the government is said to be a move to pave the way for Defense Minister and strongman Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for presidential election, the AP reported.
El-Sisi has already secured the support of Egypt's top military body, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, to launch a presidential bid, according to the AP.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, led by Sisi, nominated the head of Egypt's powerful military as presidential candidate in January, the AP reported. The leader, who has a following, is expected to win in the presidential polls, which are to be held by late April.
