CAIRO — A statement published by Egypt’s newly formed National Salvation Front on Dec. 2 described President Mohammed Morsi’s call for a constitutional referendum as “irresponsible” and accused him of “reneging on his oath not to schedule it before reaching a broad state of national consensus over the constitution."

“The president preferred to act as a party member than as a president to all Egyptians,” said the statement, as tens of thousands of protesters gathered Tuesday in front of major mosques across the capital before marching to the presidential palace in eastern Cairo.

Barbed-wire barricades erected by the military to seal off streets leading to the palace were torn down by demonstrators  infuriated by the exceptional security measures that weren’t equally applied when a massive support rally built a stage and chanted freely at the walls of the heavily guarded mansion. Security forces withdrew after minor skirmishes.

Live footage by several local TV channels showed dozens of protesters surrounding a riot police vehicle and several soldiers to protect them from violence by others in the crowd, a spectacular scene given the hundreds of bloody clashes that took place between protesters and police forces over the past 23 months since the Jan. 25 uprising.