Most Egyptian judges rejected any role Tuesday inoverseeing the country's constitutional referendum, a move likely to castfurther doubt on the legitimacy of the disputed charter.
The nation's worst crisis since Hosni Mubarak's ousternearly two years ago also forced the government to put off a crucial deal withthe International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion loan, shattering any hopefor recovery of the country's ailing economy anytime soon.
On one side of the divide is President Mohammed Morsi, hisMuslim Brotherhood and their ultra-conservative Islamist allies, against anopposition camp of liberals, leftists and Christians who contend the draftcharter restricts freedoms and gives Islamists vast influence over the runningof the country.
An unexpected twist came when the defense minister, a Morsiappointee, invited the opposition, along with judges, media leaders and Muslimand Christian clerics to an informal gathering Wednesday, saying he was doingso in his personal — not an official — capacity.
It was the second time this week that the nation's powerfulmilitary has addressed the crisis, signaling its return to the political frayafter handing over power in June to Morsi, Egypt's first civilian president.
The military sees itself as the guarantor of Egypt'sinterests and secular traditions. Earlier this week, it warned of disastrousconsequences if the crisis over the country's draft constitution is notresolved.
"We will only sit together ... For the sake of everyEgyptian, come and disagree. But we won't be cross with one another or clash,"Defense Minister Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi, said on state television.
"We are not concerned with politics. We want toreassure the people that we can sit together," added Maj. Gen. Mohammedel-Assar, el-Sissi's deputy, speaking on a private TV network.
The opposition said it would not participate in any meetingthat was nothing more than an informal gathering. The Brotherhood said it wouldattend.
Egypt's political crisis began on Nov. 22 when Morsi issueda decree granting himself — and the Islamist-dominated panel that drafted theconstitution — immunity from judicial oversight or challenge, sparking massdemonstrations.
The constituent assembly then hurriedly approved the draftconstitution in a marathon overnight session, prompting hundreds of thousandsof the president's opponents to take to the streets in massive rallies — thelargest since the uprising that toppled Mubarak in February 2011.
The vast majority of Egypt's judges, meanwhile, said Tuesdaythey would not oversee the referendum on the draft constitution. Ahmed el-Zind,chairman of the Judges' Club and a fierce Morsi critic, told a news conferencethat 90 percent of the nation's judges would join the boycott.
The move was unlikely to stop the referendum from takingplace, but it cast further doubt on the legitimacy of the constitutionaldrafting process and, ultimately, the document itself.
Late Tuesday, Morsi issued a decree declaring the vote wouldbe staggered over two days, Dec. 15 and Dec. 22, a move designed to make up forthe shortage of judges. A one-time Mubarak supporter, el-Zind has led thejudges angered by what they see as Morsi's "assault" on thejudiciary.
Zaghloul el-Balshi, head of the referendum's organizingcommittee, told the private ONTV network that 9,000 judges had agreed tooversee the voting. His claim could not be independently verified.
Prime Minister Hesham Kandil, meanwhile, said Egyptrequested a postponement of the $4.8 billion IMF loan after Morsi suspended apackage of tax hikes that had been part of a program to reduce Egypt's hugebudget deficit.
Although austerity is unavoidable, political tensions havemade the suspension of the hikes necessary, Kandil said. The IMF executiveboard was expected to vote on the deal on Dec. 19.
In Cairo's Nasr City district, a Muslim Brotherhoodstronghold, tens of thousands of the president's backers, some waving Egyptianflags, voiced their support for the constitution in a massive rally in front ofa local mosque.
"I want the chant of 'Morsi' to shake the Earth!"a man shouted into a microphone. "Alleyway to alleyway, house to house,the constitution means stability."
The crowd grew rapidly as dozens of buses transportedthousands of Morsi supporters from provinces outside of Cairo. Many of the menwore beards, a hallmark of Islamists, while the women wore the Muslim veil orthe niqab, which covers everything except the eyes.
The crowd denounced the liberal opposition and its leaders,calling them undemocratic and accusing them of being Mubarak loyalists.
"Those protesting at the presidential palace are feloul(remnants of the Mubarak regime) and counter-revolutionaries," saidMohammed Abdel-Aziz, a young Islamist protester. "They don't wantIslam."
Another pro-Morsi protester, school teacher Mohammedel-Hamoul, said Islamists "accepted democracy so we could reachpower."
"Now those who claim to be democracy advocates lostfaith in democracy when the Islamists rose to power," he said.
Several hundred Islamists also have set up camp outside amedia complex that is home to several independent TV networks critical of Morsiand the Brotherhood. The Islamists have threatened to storm the facility.
The opposition, meanwhile, staged its rally in the nearbyHeliopolis neighborhood, where tens of thousands of protesters gathered outsidethe presidential palace, pushing their demands that Morsi scrap the referendum.
"The people want the downfall of Brotherhoodrule!" the protesters chanted, alluding to the widespread notion thatMohammed Badie, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, is thecountry's actual ruler.
Troops belonging to the elite Republican Guards deployedoutside the palace did not intervene, with some posing for the protesters'cameras.
With four days to go before the referendum, the oppositionhas yet to decide whether to campaign for a "no" vote or call for aboycott — something many see as a reflection of the divisions in the anti-Morsicamp. The disparate opposition groups are led by Nobel Peace Prize laureateMohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's former foreign minister and Arab League chief AmrMoussa and leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi.
Cracks in the opposition's unity first appeared last weekendwhen one of its leading figures, veteran opposition politician Ayman Nour,accepted an invitation by Morsi to attend a "national dialogue"meeting. On Monday, another key opposition figure, El-Sayed Badawi of the Wafdparty, met Morsi at the presidential palace.
Badawi later issued a statement saying he remained loyal tothe opposition's goals of scrapping the draft charter and postponing the vote.
The opposition has also demanded that Morsi rescind decreesgiving him near- absolute powers. He withdrew those powers on Saturday, butinsisted that the referendum would go ahead as scheduled.
Anticipating unrest on the days the referendum is held,Morsi has ordered the military to join the police in maintaining security andprotecting state institutions until after the results of the vote areannounced. The decree went into effect on Monday.