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Egypt continued to experience unrest in the wake of President Mursi’s assumption of unchallenged legislative powers last month, and his attempt over the last few days to push through approval of a new constitution.

Mursi, who represents the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected as president in June in Egypt’s first poll since the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Two weeks ago, he announced that any laws that he may pass would be immune from legal challenges until a new parliament is elected and a constitution is in place. Although Mursi and his supporters claimed that the decree was necessary in order to move more swiftly towards democracy, the announcement was interpreted by many as authoritarian and has sparked a series of large-scale protests. Yesterday, several thousand people gathered outside the Presidential Palace and were forcibly removed by police with tear gas. According to Reuters, Mursi himself was forced to leave the building.

The latest demonstrations come after Mursi requested last week that overnight the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly complete drafting the country’s new constitution. The document is widely viewed as the cornerstone of the new, democratic Egypt, which will outline the powers of the president, parliament, the judiciary and military and will set out the role of Islamic law. A subsequent referendum on the constitution is planned for 15 December, which Mursi’s opponents fear is a hurried attempt to enshrine authoritarian rule.

Hussein Abdel Ghany, a spokesman for an opposition coalition of liberal, leftist and other disparate factions told Reuters, “Our marches are against tyranny and the void constitutional decree and we won’t retract our position until our demands are met.” Meanwhile, writing in the Financial Times, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammed El Baradei warned “with a few strokes of a pen, they [Mursi’s government] can slide [Egypt] back into a coma.”

Some of Egypt’s most popular newspapers did not publish yesterday in protest at Mursi’s actions. However, enough members of the judiciary appear likely to agree to oversee the constitutional referendum, despite talk of a boycott by judges.