Egypt set to have presidential elections first

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s interim leader on Sunday said the country will pick a president before parliament, a widely expected change in a political transition plan as public support for army chief and July coup leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi grows stronger. But Egypt remains dangerously divided, as seen in clashes that killed at least 49 people a day earlier and militant attacks in the country’s restive Sinai Peninsula that left several soldiers dead.

The decision follows weeks of deliberations with different political groups who had pushed for holding presidential, not parliamentary elections first, as had been originally planned. Many argued that electing a president would be a panacea for the country’s dangerously divided politics.