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In this image from Egyptian state television aired Tuesday evening Feb 1 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak makes what has been billed as an important speech. Mubarak has faced a week of public and international pressure to step down from the role he has held for 30 years, culminating in a day when a quarter-million people turned in the largest protest yet to demand his ouster. (AP Photo/Egyptian state television via APTN)
Mubarak will announce that he is stepping down from the leadership after the next election, expected in October, but will stay in office until then, the network said without identifying the source of its information.
The Egyptian government did not immediately confirm that the president planned a public address, news agencies in the capital, Cairo, reported.
Mubarak has said little since the clamor for his ouster began more than a week ago. The protests have escalated and paralyzed the economy of the Middle East’s most populous nation. A demonstration in Cairo on Tuesday drew at least 200,000 protesters, the largest so far to demand that the 82-year-old authoritarian leader resign after nearly 30 years as president.