(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY CHRISTIAN BRYANT

All eyes are on Tahrir Square once again. Egyptian protesters in Cairo are clashing with police ahead of the parliamentary elections beginning November 28. RT has the story.

“Tear gas and stones are flying again in Tahrir Square, as riot police and protesters clash in Cairo. State television says over 150 people have been injured. The protesters have been taking to the streets protesting against the military rulers since President Mumbarak was toppled in February.”

Violence started after police moved into Tahrir Square to dismantle a Muslim Brotherhood sit-in against the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces. Dan Murphy from the Christian Science Monitor reports that this fight could affect upcoming parliamentary elections.

“Not exactly the best table setter for a parliamentary election scheduled to begin on Nov. 28, is it? In fact, it raises questions about whether the elections -- poorly prepared for by all accounts -- will come off on time at all.”

The Egyptian public has been urging the Supreme Council to turn over power to a civilian government, as was promised after the ousting of former President Mubarak in February.

On a positive note for protesters, the military has made adjustments to a “bill of rights” that make the document more favorable to civilians and pulls back military efforts to control Egypt. The New York Times reports:

“The changes announced Saturday would not only make those provisions advisory, they were also modified to say that the only role of the armed forces was protecting the country and ‘preserving its unity,’ rather than the broader assertion of a role guarding ‘constitutional legitimacy.’”

Still, the military has not guaranteed to turn over power after the elections. Although Islamists and liberals share their dissatisfaction with the ruling government, only one party will potentially decide Egypt’s future. Al Jazeera reports,

“While united against giving the army new powers, Islamists and liberals are jockeying among themselves for votes in crucial parliamentary elections... The victors will help choose who will draft a new constitution that will define the character of post-revolutionary Egypt.”