A senior government source on Sunday denied reports that the military council was about to dismiss or reshuffle the Cabinet in the next few hours, despite the People's Assembly speaker saying he had been informed by the military such a move was about to take place.
MP Mostafa Bakry, however, said on the privately owned Al-Hayat satellite channel that while there will be a limited reshuffle, the government would continue its work as usual.
Bakry added that he wishes Parliament had not suspended its sessions until next Sunday in an attempt to pressure Egypt's military rulers to sack the current Cabinet. People's Assembly Speaker Saad al-Katatny announced that decision earlier in the day, though it was opposed by 170 members of Parliament.
The current government will only last until 30 June, said the government source, implying that such a move would be unnecessary at this point.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri met on Saturday with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the military council, to discuss the crisis over his government and ways to contain it.
The source said Tantawi did not mention any dismissal or reshuffle to Ganzouri, and Katatny was not present at the meeting.
Earlier, Katatny had said the Ganzouri Cabinet would be dismissed within a few hours, according to a phone call Katatny said he received from a member of the ruling military council.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, made the decision, according to the SCAF member on the phone.
Ganzouri would be tasked with forming a new caretaker government and reshuffling the Cabinet to replace ministers who have recently quarreled with Parliament, according to Katatny's account of the phone call.
Katatny's comments came during a meeting with his deputies who opposed his earlier decision to suspend parliamentary sessions.
The speaker also said the council member told him the SCAF would issue a statement praising Parliament's performance.
Al-Masry Al-Youm had also been informed by its own sources that the military council will dismiss the government and change four ministers.
The standoff between Parliament and the Cabinet has been ongoing for weeks, with the parliamentary Islamist majority repeatedly calling for the government to resign given its poor performance, especially in with regard to the economy and security.
However, the Constitutional Declaration designed by the SCAF and passed in March of last year does not give Parliament the authority to sack the government, which has been a matter of contention for Islamists who sense they took over a disempowered legislature.
Earlier today, Katatny vowed to suspend parliamentary sessions until next Sunday to prompt the government to resign, a move rejected by many MPs.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
