The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most influential political group, has said that it will announce Saturday evening whether it will field a presidential candidate or not, the group said. In a small statement on the Facebook page of its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, the group said that its supreme guide will hold a press conference to announce its decision. Earlier on Saturday, the Muslim Brotherhood's Shura Council held an emergency meeting at the group's headquarters in Moqattam to decide which presidential candidate to back, and whether the group will run a candidate from within its own ranks. There are three choices on the table. The group will either field its own candidate, endorse an existing candidate, or refrain from supporting any candidates, giving members the freedom to vote for any of the candidates already in the race. Brotherhood sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the group's Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat al-Shater has agreed to run for president, but other sources from the group said that some leading members prefer not to have a Brotherhood candidate at all. There are already three Islamists running for the post. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a former leading member of the group, Hazem Abu Ismail, the ultraconservative preacher, and Selim al-Awa, the Islamic academic have already been campaigning in the heated race for weeks. The Brotherhood has prieviously said that it will not back the Islamic frontrunners, saying Aboul Fotouh is out of the question because the former Brother didn't respect the group's decision not to run for presidency. They also said that they will not back Abu Ismail. Rumors have surfaced that the 83-year-old group might endorse Awa. Banned under the former President Hosni Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood has emerged as the most powerful political force in the country post-uprising, with its political arm the FJP winning almost half of the seats of the parliament two chambers. The group also has been sweeping most of the professional syndicates' elections. This month, the Brotherhood passed its plan for the formation of the 100-member panel that will write the country's post-Mubarak constitution, claiming a majority of members on the panel. The group, which has a wide support in urban areas, is believed to be the biggest political force in terms of supporters and sympathizers. Some estimate the number to be in the range from half a million to one million. Without a clear Brotherhood endorsed candidate, it's unclear how this number of supporters will affect the presidential vote for which more than 50 million Egyptians are eligible.
