An Egyptian politician has called for a referendum on President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s government.

Masoum Marzouk, a former diplomat, announced a road map this week that would include the suspension of the constitution and the dissolution of parliament if Egyptians were to vote against the government.

He said that if the government did not respond positively to his initiative, a popular conference” would be held in Cairo’s Tahrir Square — epicenter of the 2011 uprising — on August 31.

El-Sissi was re-elected this year in a vote in which all potentially serious competitors were arrested or pressured into withdrawing. The government has banned unauthorized protests and jailed thousands of people since 2013 in a massive crackdown on dissent.

Pro-government media figures and legislators have called for Marzouk to be prosecuted.
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