CAIRO: Egypt's popular political leader and former presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters upon returning to Egypt on Tuesday at the Cairo International Airport that the upcoming presidential runoff in the country should be canceled. He argued that the real battle in Egypt was “writing Egypt's new constitution and canceling the presidential elections, because the legitimacy of one of the candidates is highly doubtful,” referring to presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who was Mubarak's last prime minister. In February, the country passed the “azl” law that banned members of the former regime of the past decade from participating in politics for the next 10 years, however, Shafiq somehow has been able to continue his campaign and came in close second in last month's first round of voting. Shafiq is challenging the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi in the election run-off, scheduled for June 16 and 17. Egyptian expatriates have already started to cast their ballots in the run-off. ElBaradei said that “Egyptians have been driven to demonstrate in squares across the country because the goals of the January 25 revolution have not been achieved.” ElBaradei did not vote in the Egyptian elections as he had left the country only a few days before the voting. ElBaradei also set doubts over the legitimacy of Parliament and said that he was heading to Cairo's iconic al-Tahrir Square to “support the protesters.” The former nuclear watchdog chief said that he would hold a meeting with the revolutionary youth as the “revolution did not achieve any of its goals, including bread, freedom and social justice,” the statement published by local newspapers said. It came as tens of thousands of Egyptians poured into the iconic Tahrir Square on Tuesday evening in what they described as the “reclaiming” of a revolt they say has been “hijacked” after Mubarak was jailed for life and his top security officials freed in a sign they say his old guard is still in charge. Although Mubarak was imprisoned on Saturday over the killing of protesters, he escaped the death penalty and senior officers tried with him were acquitted for lack of evidence, so many now believe the deposed leader could win an appeal. “No to Mursi, no to Shafiq, the revolution is half-way through,” read a placard held up by one youth in Tahrir Square, calling for a boycott of the vote. The vote is the final step before the army, which took charge when Mubarak was driven out, formally hands over to a new president by July 1. This would mark the end of a transition marred by protests, political bickering and sometimes bloodshed. But activists are not convinced it will do any good, especially if Shafiq is victorious in this month's runoff. Mohamed Yussif, a Cairo University student who went to Tahrir on Tuesday to protest, told Bikyamasr.com that “this would be the beginning of the need for a new revolution if Shafiq wins because it would be the same as the Mubarak government, and even the same face.”
