Six presidential hopefuls in Egypt have prepared a timetable for the transfer of power to civilian rule in the form of an elected president by 15 April, according to would-be president Mohamed Selim al-Awa on Tuesday. The six men intend to submit the proposed schedule to the ruling supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), al-Awa said in an interview with the privately-owned ON TV satellite channel. Al-Awa explained that the timetable is intended to shorten the transitional period, the continuity of which is adversely affecting the political and economic situation in Egypt, he said. "We demand that the potential [presidential] candidates be allowed to submit their candidacy papers one or two weeks after the Shoura Council's [the upper house of parliament] elections are over," al-Awa said. The timetable, according to al-Awa, identifies the period for presidential campaigning as running from 15 February to the end of March. The elections themselves would start on 1 April, with any run-offs taking place on 10 April. Al-Awa said that the timetable stipulates that power will be handed over by 15 April 2012. Egypt's presidential elections are expected to be held at the end of 2012 or the start of 2013, according to a constitutional declaration issued by the SCAF on 25 September, a delay in the vote that frustrates some activists who want a swift transfer of power from the army.
