Now that Egypt's presidential campaign is officially underway, with candidates having until April 8 to submit their papers, many are wondering who the Salafists will back for the country's top job. As the group with the second most seats in parliament, Salafists and the al-Nour Party, could very well find itself as a key voter group in the May vote. Still, the group said on Sunday it had no intention of announcing their support for any one candidate until after the registration process is complete. A number of analysts and activists, in recent weeks, have told Bikyamasr.com that the group is likely to back firebrand Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail as a result of his large rural following and adherence to their ideas of state, religion and government. But it will be a waiting game, and a guessing one, until next month. Spokesman for the al-Nour Party Nader Bakar, said in a statement that his party is “committed” to its decision to postpone the announcement of which presidential candidate it will support “until the official candidacy registration period ends.” “The closest candidate to obtain our support is the one who has an Islamic program,” Bakar said in a press statement Friday evening. “The party has conducted meetings with most candidates to inquire about their programs, but we have not held meetings with those who have announced they will be running in the [last] few passing days,” Bakar added. The Salafists, like their less conservative Muslim Brotherhood colleagues, appear ready to wait before throwing their support behind a candidate, which many believe is an attempt to gauge who the people want in order to be seen as a populist movement. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/LHtNP Tags: Election, featured, President, Salafist Section: Egypt, Latest News
