Founder of the New Ghad Party Ayman Nour denied on Tuesday press reports that he will bow out of Egypt's presidential race and support Mohamed ElBaradei. Nour said on Twitter that he will neither withdraw from the race nor leave his bid to another candidate, adding that all reports of his dropping out are false. He expressed surprise that such rumors have arisen in the wake of the establishment of his new party, which an Egyptian court officially recognized on Monday. Nour placed second behind former President Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 presidential elections, which involved 10 nominees. Observers regard Nour as one of Mubarak's fiercest opponents, noting his suffering of several instances of persecution by the former regime, most notably being framed in a forgery case that sent him to jail for five years. In May, an Egyptian court approved Nour's request to reopen the 2005 case in which he was charged with forging powers of attorney to help form the original Ghad Party. He made this request so he can be eligible to run in the 2012 presidential elections, as rules stipulate that a candidate cannot have a criminal record.
