Anti-Morsi protests in Cairo, June 2013 Cairo – Akram Ali? Revolutionary and Islamist activists  in Egypt criticised on Tuesday the appointment of new governors by the interim president, expressing fears that the high number of army and police officers hired may signal a return to the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak.
Interim leader Adly Mansour swore in 20 new provincial governors on Tuesday, reinforcing his power and removing all the Muslim Brotherhood members installed by ousted former president Mohammed Morsi.
Ten governors of Egypt’s 27 provinces will be from the military, and two from the police, and many of the new officials served under former president Mubarak during his 30-year-long rule.
The Union for the Protection of the Revolution said around 76 revolutionary groups were against the move, including the Egyptian Revolution Party, Nubian Youth coalition, Equality and Development ?Party and 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition.
In a press statement, the Union said: “the move [to appoint] the governors is strongly reminiscent of the ?icons of [Mubarak’s] National Democratic Party, and the men of Mubarak and [former interior minister] al-Adly.
“Therefore, we ?announce our deep discontent with the move, which solely contains military names or  names of people from the dissolved National Democratic Party, without effective participation of the young people of the revolution, or agreed-upon political figures and bodies.”?
Mohamed Abdel Latif, a member of the National Salvation Front, told Arab Today that the cabinet had made no effort to coordinate with the Front about the appointments.
Latif criticised the move as “sudden”, adding the list of governors was overloaded with military figures but ?did not include any female names.?
The April 6 Youth movement echoed these concerns, saying nominations from a number of different ?parties had not been considered.?
In a statement, the activist group said: “Sticking to old faces that contributed to ruining and ?corrupting political life before the revolution is a new failure for the current administration… The current governing bodies should be aware that moving away from the goals of the revolution is the first pitfall, and should rectify these mistakes ?before it’s too late.”?
The revolutionary groups’ concerns were echoed by their Islamist rivals, with Morsi-supporters denouncing the new governorships as evidence that the military wishes to keep hold of power.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the Salafist al-Nour Party, Sherif Taha, described the president’s selections as depressing and disappointing, saying the move confirmed Egypt was sliding towards the militarisation of the state.?
In a press statement released on Tuesday, he said Egypt was “full of competent technocratic talent that could have been hired for these positions.”?
Similarly, the Islamist al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya denounced the approval of the new governors, saying in a statement released on Tuesday evening that the regime’s attempt to ‘put down roots’ would be rejected by all peaceful means.
Vice-President of Salafist al-Watan Party, Yousry Hammad, said via his Facebook page on Tuesday evening that the move was an attempt to “install icons of [Mubarak’s] National Democratic Party and restore police control”.