Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak days before he left office, resigned today. Shafiq will be replaced by Essam Sharaf, a former transportation minister under Mubarak.
Ongoing protests since Mubarak’s resignation have insisted on Shafiq’s departure as one of a set of demands related to ending the era of authoritarian governance in the country. Other demands include the repeal of the decades-old emergency law and the release of political prisoners.