Supporters of the Salafist presidential hopeful Abu-Ismail break into wild celebrations after verdict is read and candidacy salvaged; ruling does not prove mother did not hold a foreign nationality Egypt's State Council issued a ruling late on Wednesday, calling upon the Ministry of Interior to release documents verifying the nationality status of the Salafist presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail's late mother. The ruling prompted around 2000 of Abu-Ismail's supporters, who congregated on the street before the State Council's headquarters in solidarity with the presidential hopeful, to ecstatically celebrate. They chanted"where's the press? Here is the president" and "the people want Hazem Abu-Ismail", before performing massIslamic prayers to express gratitude for the ruling,causing a traffic jam in the process. Presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail had filed a lawsuit on 4 April at the State Council against the head of the Supreme Electoral Commission (SPEC)Abdel-Moez Ibrahim and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, demanding the government issue an official certificate confirming his mother does not have dual nationality as media reports recently indicated. Egyptian elections laws prohibit anyone who holds a foreign nationality, or whose parents do, from running for the highest office in the country. The verdict, however, does not conclusively confirm that Abu-Ismail's mother did not hold the US citizenship. The Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission is not subject to judicial authority pursuant to article 28 of the 2011 March's constitutional declaration issued by the ruling military council.The SPEC, in other words, is not legally obliged to obey any court ruling and is solely responsible for its decisions, including the elimination of presidential candidates it deems illegible. Egypt's interior and foreign ministries and the US State Department have stated that Abu-Ismail's mother acquired a US passport before she died. Abu-Ismail, however, denies allegations his mother held a US citizenship and has demanded official recognition of any dual-nationality status. The SPEC is expected to announce a list of applicants who legally qualify for the position of president on 26 April. Abu-Ismail is the son of late high-profile Islamist figure Salah Abu-Ismail, who was a prominent Al-Azhar scholar, a long-standing member of parliament and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Salafist contender announced his bid for the presidency in May 2011 and has been considered a frontrunner in the 2012 race. His bid, however, has faltered since reports circulated that his mother was a US national. A final confirmed list of eligible presidential candidates is expected to be published by the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission on 26 April. Presidential elections will take place on 23 and 24 May, and the president will be named on 21 June after a runoff-voting round on 16 and 17 June.
