Before officially announcing their stance on presidential election runoffs Monday morning, three eliminated candidates present their demands against backdrop of mass Tahrir protests Eliminated presidential candidatesHamdeen Sabbahi,Abdel-Moneim Abul-FotouhandKhaled Aliwill hold a joint press conference Monday morning to present a united stance on this month's scheduled presidential runoff vote. The conference was first scheduled for Sunday evening, following a meeting between the three candidates earlier in the afternoon. However, when the meeting lasted longer than expected, the conference was pushed to Monday at 11am at the Sabbahi campaign's Cairo headquarters. Abul-Fotouh's campaign released a statement Sunday evening announcing that the candidates have also reached three points of agreement: Mubarak and his aides should receive urgent and fair retrials; the recently approved Political Disenfranchisement Law must be implemented (meaning disqualification for Mubarak's last PM and runoff contender, Ahmed Shafiq); and that a proposed presidential council, which emerged in Tahrir Square, should be respected and taken into consideration. The meeting between the three candidates comes amid mass protests in Tahrir Square against Saturday's verdict that handed Mubarak and his interior minister a life sentence but surprisingly acquitted senior police chiefs on charges of participating in the crime of killing protesters during the January 25 Revolution. Protesters largely denounce the presence of Ahmed Shafiq in Egypt's first genuine multi-candidate presidential elections, as he served as Mubarak's last PM during the infamous Battle of the Camel on 2 February 2011. Runoffs set for 16 and 17 June will pitt Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi against Shafiq.
