Mass protests are expected to break out at Cairo’s Tahrir Square and outside the presidential palace. The protests are timed with the one-year anniversary of President Mohamed Mursi’s inauguration as leader of Egypt.

Demonstrators accuse Mursi of failing to improve the country’s deteriorating economy and poor security situation.

The planned rally is partly a result of the Tamarod or Rebel campaign. The campaign was launched by a group of young Egyptians who are calling for the country’s population to sign their petition to demonstrate a vote of no-confidence in the president.

According to local press reports, the Tamarod movement has now gathered more than 22 million signatures. 

There is growing resentment in the general population against Mursi, with many angry at his inability to implement proper economic reform. There are others who are concerned about the growing influence the Muslim Brotherhood has over the Egyptian government.

In June, Mursi placed Islamists in charge of 13 of Egypt’s 27 governorships, which has further angered certain sections of society. In particular the appointment of a new governor of Luxor lead to protests breaking out in the Egyptian town. The governor is said to have links to the former militant group Gamaa Islamiya, which claimed to be responsible for a terror attack in Luxor in 1997.

The Tamarod campaign has been dismissed by Mursi’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) as “unconstitutional”.

The FJP has also criticised attempts by some protesters to hijack the Tamarod campaign and turn it into a “fertile breeding ground for thugs and corrupt figures of the defunct region”.

It cites recent incidents of attacks on FJP members in various Egyptian cities.