Egypt’s Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi revealed that a few days before the government’s toppling

Egypt’s Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi revealed that a few days before the government's toppling, he issued the ousted President Mohamed Mursi a proposal to conduct a referendum regarding early presidential elections. 
 
According to Arab media reports, al-Sisi made the proposal through two envoys, one of them being Prime Minister Hesham Qandil. According to al-Sisi, Mursi's response was absolute refusal.

Al-Sisi said the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces respected the June 2012 elections that propelled Mursi to power with a narrow victory and tried to stay out of politics. But he said the military could no longer stand on the sidelines as millions of Egyptians took to the streets to call for him to step down because of allegations he was abusing his power.

"No one is a guardian of the public, and no one can dictate or force a path or thought that they don't accept," al-Sisi said in remarks to officers, which were reported by state-run media. "The armed forces sincerely accepted the choice of the people, but then political decision-making began stumbling and the armed forces took the view that any correction or adjustment must come from only one source and that is the legitimacy of the people."