Representatives from a range of political organizations will visit Mohamed ElBaradei this week at his home on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road to coordinate plans to push for reform in Egypt. The visits coincide with the launch of an international campaign by political activists to support the nomination of ElBaradei for the presidency. ElBaradei, the former head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency, has suggested that he would run for president in 2011 if elections were "free and fair." Mahmoud el-Khodeiry, former president of the Judges Club in Alexandria, announced that a delegation of activists will meet with ElBaradei at his home to discuss his nomination for the presidency and the possibility of amending the constitution. Abdel Rahman Youssef, general rapporteur for the independent popular campaign to support the nomination of ElBaradei in the upcoming presidential election, said ElBaradei will meet with members of the campaign at his home on Wednesday. The delegation will include a number of politicians and thinkers, including Cairo University professor of political science Hassan Nafaa and Kefaya's general coordinator George Ishaq. The delegation will discuss ElBaradei's nomination, steps to amend articles of the constitution that restrict nominations in the coming election, the screening of voting lists, and possibilities for international supervision of elections to prevent rigging and ensure transparency, according to el-Khodeiry. The main aim of the campaign at this stage is communication with and mobilizing people who support change, said Youssef. Safwan Mohamed, general coordinator for the Ayez Haqqi movement for amending the Constitution, said that the formation of the preparatory committee for the formation of a new constitution will be announced this week. The committee will be headed by Yehia el-Gamal and will also include ElBaradei, Nafaa, el-Khodeiry, and former presidential candidate Ayman Nour. A number of political and rights activists have announced the launch of a campaign to nominate ElBaradei for the presidency. The campaign seeks to draw on a large number of political parties and non-governmental organizations in different countries. The objective of the campaign is to pressure the regime to conduct transparent and fair elections under international supervision. Mohamed Saeed, coordinator for external promotion of the campaign, said that their plan to support ElBaradei includes the development of blogs and mailing groups on Facebook and other websites. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
