CAIRO, Nov 30: Thousands of Egyptians protested against President Mohamed Morsi on Friday after an Islamist-led assembly hurriedly approved a new constitution in a bid to end a crisis over the leader’s newly expanded powers.

“The people want to bring down the regime,” they chanted in Tahrir Square, echoing the chants that rang out in the same place less than two years ago and brought down Hosni Mubarak.

President Morsi said the decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which sparked eight days of protests and violence by Egyptians calling him a new dictator, was “for an exceptional stage” and aimed to speed up the democratic transition.

“It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution,” he told state television while the constituent assembly was still voting on the draft. “There is no place for dictatorship.”

The opposition cried foul. Liberals, leftists, Christians, moderate Muslims and others had withdrawn from the assembly, saying their voices were not being heard.

Thousands packed Tahrir Square and hit the streets in Alexandria and cities on the Suez Canal, in the Nile Delta and south of Cairo, responding to opposition calls for a big turnout.

Protesters said they would push for a ‘no’ vote in a referendum, which could happen as early as mid-December. If approved, it would immediately cancel the president’s decree.

“We fundamentally reject the referendum and constituent assembly because the assembly does not represent all sections of society,” said Sayed el-Erian, 43, a protester in Tahrir and member of a party set up by opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei.—Reuters