CAIRO: Egypt's top political movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, and its political wing the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said it would not support a secular candidate for Egypt's presidential elections, scheduled to take place in May. The group's statement came on Saturday, when they denied reports that it would support the nomination of Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi for the country's top job as a consensus candidate. Arabi himself has said that he has no intention of entering the race, despite local reports late last week stating that he would be a candidate agreed upon by all political factions in the country. Mahmoud Ghozlan, the official spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, told reporters that reports that circulated in the media about the group's support for the nomination of Dr. Nabil el-Arabi are “absolutely false and have no basis.” “The Muslim Brotherhood would only support a candidate who is a public figure, well known to the public, and not a newcomer in the field of politics, because if the candidate relies on the group`s support, he might lose,” Ghozlan was quoted as saying. He stressed that the group will “not support a secular candidate for presidency, or any candidate hostile to Islam.” The Brotherhood currently holds nearly half of seats in parliament through its FJP party, but has repeatedly said it would not field a candidate of its own in the presidential race. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/vKXVX Tags: Elections, featured, FJP, MB, Secular Section: Egypt, Latest News, Religion
