CAIRO: Egypt's Higher Presidential Elections Commission (HPEC) under Counselor Farouq Sultan rejected on Tuesday all appeals by the 10 recently disqualified candidates in Egypt's upcoming presidential elections. Sultan said that the HPEC listened to the defense of each candidate separately for three days, reviewed the notes that have been submitted and decided to exclude them. For his part, banned presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, an ultra-conservative Salafist, has staged an open-ended sit-in outside the HPEC headquarters. In his first reaction to the decision, Khairat al-Shater, of the Muslim Brotherhood, confirmed his stance that this indicates the Mubarak regime has not fallen. In response to the discor, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' (SCAF) Major General Mamdouh Shahin said the SCAF is determinate to hold the presidential elections on time. They are scheduled for May 23 and 24, with a run-off if necessary, in mid-June.