Supporting the presidential candidacy of Omar Suleiman, former Egyptian intelligence chief, would be "treason to the revolution," presidential hopeful Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh said on Sunday. At a forum at Ain Shams University, Abouel Fotouh said there are attempts to “strip the revolution of meaning,” and members of the former regime are trying to regain power. While Suleiman has not officially announced his candidacy, Abouel Fotouh said some people are trying to push the former vice president to run for the presidency. Last week several Facebook pages claimed Suleiman intends to run in the election, scheduled to be held by the end of this year. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces included Suleiman in a Facebook poll that asked users to pick their preferred candidate for the presidency. So far, Suleiman ranks sixth in the poll with 3 percent of the votes, close after former Arab League chief Amr Moussa. ElBaradei, former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, remains in the first place, followed by Islamic thinker and lawyer Mohamed Selim al-Awa, former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and then Islamic candidate Hazem Abu Ismail. At the forum, Abouel Fotouh also said the former regime used Suleiman in a maneuver to improve its image before then-president Hosni Mubarak's resignation. He said the revolution has not yet achieved its goals because it has only removed the corrupt head of the regime, while the roots remain in place. The real challenge ahead, he said, is to build a democratic system. Translated from the Arabic Edition
