A campaign in support of Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak and anticipated candidate in next year's presidential elections, was officially launched in Cairo on Sunday under the slogan "Egypt looks forward to a new beginning." The campaign launch garnered a positive reaction among locals, with a number of residents signing a petition in support of a Gamal Mubarak presidential nomination in exchange for free t-shirts. “We have collected 1200 signatures from the Mansheyat Nasser district alone,” said campaign manager Marwa Hadad. “We chose this area so as to allow the poor a chance to express themselves and participate in deciding their country's future.” “I believe we need a young man with modern thinking to lead this country,” said Mansheyat Nasser's representative in parliament, Daker Abdel Elah, adding that the campaign aimed to collect a total of 100,000 signatures from the area. The campaign has also been launched in the northern cities of Damietta and Port Said, where Gamal Mubarak supporters have hung posters bearing the presidential scion's image in major city squares. According to Mubarak campaigners, members of the National Association for Change--established by independent presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei--have been illegally tearing down their campaign posters. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
