A petition campaign has gathered more than four million signatures from Egyptians opposed to the July "military coup" against elected president Mohamed Morsi.
In a Thursday statement, the Batel ('Invalid') campaign said it has collected "4.07 million signatures as part of efforts to garner 30 million signatures against the coup."
The numbers could not be verified, but the campaign's statement says, "it is ready to allow independent bodies to verify the numbers of signatures."
The drive was launched in September with the aim of collecting 30 million signatures from Egyptians opposed to what they call the "military coup" against Morsi.
Founder Abdel-Rahman Mansour earlier told Anadolu Agency that the campaing aims "to prepare for January 25 [which will mark the third anniversary of the uprising that ousted autocratic president Hosni Mubarak] in Tahrir Square to demand a return to [Egypt's] pre-June 30 status."
Morsi – Egypt's first freely elected leader – was removed from power by the military following massive, well-coordinated demonstrations against his presidency that began on June 30.
The unconstitutional change of government is described by the ousted president's backers as a "military coup," while supporters of the move call it a military-backed "popular uprising."
englishnews@aa.com.tr
