Doaa El-Bey reviews the list of candidates running for the country's highest and hottest seat By April of this year, many candidates had indicated their intention to run in next year's presidential elections even before a firm date was set and before the authorities of the president is decreed in a constitution not yet written. Given that the constitution is to be drafted in early 2012, it remains to be seen who among the candidates is eligible. It is also not yet clear how the candidacy criteria will be applied under the newly-elected parliament. A presidential election is scheduled to be held before June 30, and the president is expected to be sworn in by 1 July 2012. However, the timing of the presidential elections was subject to controversy this week. A group of public figures advocated early presidential elections. They backed an initiative to start presidential elections on 25 January 2012, the revolution's first anniversary. The president should be elected within 60 days of that date. The group argued that bringing forward presidential elections prior to Shura Council (Upper House) elections and the drawing up of the constitution would best preserve the Egyptian revolution, as it would hand over authority to a popularly elected figure. Another group of newly elected MPs are campaigning to hold the Shura Council elections on one day instead of three stages, as is the case with the parliamentary elections. In that case the presidential elections could be held in April. Still, there is a strong movement, supported by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) against changing the timetable outlined earlier by the ruling military council which set June as the time for presidential elections. The presidential race started very early before a constitution or clearly outlined authorities of the president, Al-Wafd writer Nabil Zaki, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Some candidates decided to join the race from as early as March. However, most of the candidates are after the authority of the position, Zaki added. "And experience shows that giving the president undefined responsibilities allows him to dictate his will on his people." Which is why, Zaki said he was in favour of a parliamentary system. Zaki added he was against holding presidential elections before drafting a constitution. Another diplomat who preferred anonymity agreed with Zaki that the constitution should come first. However, he said that clearly defined authorities in a constitution would stop a president from ruling unilaterally even in a presidential system. Presidential candidates belong to various backgrounds. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa topped the list and is the most popular of them according to various opinion polls conducted throughout 2011. In March, Moussa was one of the first candidates to declare that he would run for presidential elections. Moussa has been heavily involved with Egypt's foreign policy since 1958. He was Egypt's Ambassador to the United Nations, India and Switzerland over a total period of 21 years. He served as Egypt's foreign minister from 1991--2001, and as the secretary-general of the Arab League until May this year. Moussa has been a very popular political figure in Egypt due to his criticism of Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank as well as Washington's double standards in supporting Israel's nuclear weapons policy but not allowing Iran to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Although he was associated with the Mubarak regime, Moussa's stand against the regime made him popular. Mohamed El-Baradei, former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is another candidate. El-Baradei is respected among pro- democracy campaigners but many Egyptians view him as out of touch because he spent much of his career outside the country, particularly during his time as the head of the UN nuclear watchdog. El-Baradei was one of the few who openly criticised Mubarak's regime. In November 2009, El-Baradei stated that he might run for the presidential elections provided there were written assurances about the integrity and freedom of the electoral process from the government. In February 2010, El-Baradei met with several opposition leaders and intellectuals at his home in Cairo. The meeting was concluded by the formation of a new non-party, political movement called the "National Association for Change" which aimed to make general reforms in the political scene in Egypt. After the revolution, El-Baradei was vocal in criticising some of the practices of the ruling military council and in standing against the trial of civilians before military courts. He repeatedly clashed with the US during his term in the IAEA. He repeatedly said that Iran's nuclear programme was legal and for peaceful purposes despite US rhetoric arguing the opposite. He also underlined that Iraq was not harbouring weapons of mass destruction after inspections of Iraqi facilities before and during the Iraq war despite former US president George Bush stating the opposite. Like Moussa, El-Baradei supports opening the Gaza Strip/Egypt border and accused Israel of being the biggest threat to the Middle East because of its nuclear weapons. El-Baradei joined the presidential race in March 2011. He is popular and active among revolutionary youth coalitions. Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, secretary-general of the Arab Medical Union and former member of the Guidance Bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is another popular candidate who threw his hat in the ring in May. Abul-Fotouh is a popular figure among Egyptian youth groups. He was expelled from the MB for his decision to run for the presidency because it contradicted an earlier decision that the Brotherhood would not put forward a candidate in the elections. Mohamed Selim El-Awwa, an Islamist thinker and ex-secretary-general of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, declared his candidacy in June. Other candidates include Abdallah El-Ashaal, a diplomat and former assistant to the foreign minister, and Bothaina Kamel, a media personality and pro-democracy activist. Kamel is the only female candidate who announced her candidacy. Hamdeen Sabahi, leader of the Karama (Dignity) Party, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, an Islamic thinker, Hisham Bastawisi, vice president of the Egyptian Court of Cassation, Magdi Hatata, former chief of staff in the army are other presidential candidates. Hatata later withdrew his candidacy. The president is to be elected according to the approved constitutional reforms included in the constitutional declaration issued by the ruling military council on 30 March 2011. It states that one can run for president if he meets one of three criteria: endorsement by 30 members of the People's Assembly or Shura Council, endorsement by 30,000 eligible voters from at least 15 governorates, or membership in a political party with at least one seat in either houses of parliament. Reforms include a limit on the presidency to at most two six-year terms, judicial supervision of elections, and a requirement for the president to appoint a deputy.
