CAIRO: Egypt's head of the ultra-conservative Salafist al-Nour Party Imad Abdul Ghafar denied on Friday reports that he was planning to make a run for the president. He also denied any relation with a page created on Facebook calling for his candidacy in the presidential race and declaring support for him as a president. He explained on his Facebook page that he does not know about the campaign launched by a number of Salafists to support his candidacy, and said he has “no connection at all with this page,” and called for the founders of the page's “enlightenment” over the matter. He added, “I received a flood of calls about it from inside and outside Egypt, about the matter, where I confirmed that I have no relation with it.” Egypt's military junta has set March 10 for the opening of nominations for the presidential race, with the actual vote scheduled to take place in May of this year. Leading the race are Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a moderate Islamist candidate well-liked by both liberals and conservatives, former Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, talkshow host turned politician and activist Bothaina Kamel, ultra-conservative Islamist Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail and possibly current Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, who has been reported to have garnered the support of a wide spectrum of political groups, although the reports are based on unnamed sources in local press. B ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ot84k Tags: Elections, featured, Ghafar, Nour Party, Salafist Section: Egypt, Latest News
