CAIRO: Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil El-Araby denied Saturday that he was approached by any party or official entity to discuss the possibility of contesting the presidency. Media reports claimed last week that El-Araby's name was put forward as a candidate supported by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and the country's military rulers. El-Araby also denied in a statement reports about foreign intervention in this matter or any other issues that may compromise Egypt's sovereignty. He stressed that the Egyptian people are the only ones who will decide the future of the country through free and fair elections. Egypt's former foreign minister added that it is difficult to hold the presidential elections before drafting the constitution which defines the shape of the presidential system of the state, including the powers given to the president. The Brotherhood also refuted reports that it is supporting the nomination of El-Araby. Mahmoud Ghozlan, official spokesman of the MB, said in a press statement Saturday that proposing El-Araby for Egypt's presidency at the moment might be in order to place him in the media spotlight. He added that the presidential candidate supported by the MB will be a well-known public figure and not a new obscure figure, adding that any candidate that relies on the votes of their group alone will lose. The spokesman insisted that the Brotherhood will not support a secular candidate or any candidate that opposes Islam. On the other hand, Islamist presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abou Ismail said that the selection of El-Araby renders him a “conspiratorial candidate” rather than a “consensual candidate”, saying that an alleged agreement between the military council and the MB confirms the existence of an international conspiracy against Egypt by internal and external parties. Abou Ismail told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that he supports the idea of a president based on consensus but ruled out that El-Araby is the candidate who garners the people's approval. "There is a difference between a candidate agreed upon by the people as soon as his candidacy is announced and another who is being groomed behind closed doors," he added. Mohamed ElBaradei, who recently withdrew from the presidential race, urged on his Twitter account not to add El-Araby's name to this polluted political climate, describing him as "a [source of] pride for Egypt in his knowledge, morals, patriotism and purity."
