Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday refused to step down and make way for a new government. In a televised address to the nation, he said “a government can make mistakes and the most important thing for a regime is to acknowledge mistakes”. Mubarak, who said he would not heed diktats from abroad, reiterated he wouldn’t contest the elections due in September and that his government would ensure free and fair polls.

He pointed out that his regime had started the process of amending the constitution, for which a four-member panel had been set up, supervising a peaceful transition of power.

Earlier, Egyptian television interrupted all programming to present footage of a panel of senior military officers, one of whom read out a statement described as “communique number one” of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. “In support of the legitimate demands of the people, the army will continue meeting, to examine measures to be taken to protect the nation and the ambitions of the people,” it said.

After being closeted in a meeting for hours, the council met for the first time without supreme commander Mubarak in the chair.

Essam Al-Erian, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, told HT: “These are dangerous times as we are hearing different versions. The Ikhwan (Brotherhood) will wait before declaring its official position.”