Thousands of protesters are converging to main squares in Cairo and governorates on Saturday night, hours before nation-wide protests are expected to erupt to press for the stepping down of president Mohamed Morsi.
In Cairo’s Tahrir, tens of thousands are filling up the iconic square.
Protests has already started in governorates such as; Suez, Sharqia, Monofia and Gharbya.
Traffic in Egypt’s second biggest city Alexandria almost came to a standstill in the late hours of Saturday after thousands of protesters held sit-ins in some vital districts.
In Suez, a city known for being somewhat volatile, the army distributed flyers among demonstrators urging them to stay away from state institutions and prisons.
The anti-Morsi protesters are demanding early presidential elections only one year after Morsi came in office.
On Saturday, ‘Rebel’ campaign announced that the initiative founded to force President Mohamed Morsi out of power had collected over 22 million signatures, surpassing its original goal of 15 million before 30 June.
The aim of the campaign was to outnumber the amount of votes Morsi had garnered in the presidential elections.
In Cairo, tens of thousands of Islamists supporters are holding their day two of a sit-in in support of president Mohamed Morsi in front of Raba’a Al-Adawyia mosque in Nasr City, as they also protest what they perceive as the opposition’s violation to legitimacy.
Many are fearful of potential violence to occur on Sunday, following weeks of tension between supporters and opponents of the president in several governorates.
On Friday, several governorates witnessed clashes between supporters and opponents of President Morsi. The day also saw the killing of three in Alexandria, including one American, in addition to attack on several headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party.