"Narrative Summit" Releases 2025 Recommendations to Cement Egypt's Position as a Global Tourism Destination    Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Top contenders fight to stay in presidential election
Published in Daily News Egypt on 16 - 04 - 2012

CAIRO: Three top contenders for Egypt's presidency were scrambling to stay in the election race after the authorities disqualified them on technical grounds, prompting one to say that a "major crisis" threatened the landmark vote.
The election is seen as the last step to democracy after more than a year of unstable army rule since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown by a street revolt. The generals are due to hand power to the new president by July 1 but the latest drama saw new accusations they were trying to prolong their influence.
Mubarak's former spy chief Omar Suleiman drew an outcry from opponents of the old regime when he entered the race last week, only to be told late on Saturday that he had failed to secure enough signatures in one province to run —31 were missing out of required 1,000 in the southern province of Assiut.
Suleiman, who submitted his papers at the last minute on the April 8 deadline, told the Presidential Election Committee he could present more signed proxies he collected before the deadline but didn't include that day.
Two leading Islamist candidates were also disqualified, one because he has a criminal record — dating from what was widely seen as a political trial under Mubarak — and the other because his mother had taken US citizenship, state media said.
All three had 48 hours —deadline is Monday — to appeal to the state election committee against their exclusion. If their elimination is confirmed, it would redraw the electoral map just weeks before the vote gets under way in May.
"We will not give up our right to enter the presidential race," said Mourad Mohamed Ali, campaign manager for the Muslim Brotherhood's Khairat Al-Shater, one of the three. "This commission is politicized and we will exert all political pressures to restore our rights."
"There is an attempt by the old Mubarak regime to hijack the last stage of this transitional period and reproduce the old system of governance."
A Brotherhood member, lawyer Sobhi Saleh, said on state television: "The legal battle is not over."
The Brotherhood accused the ruling generals of "stealing" the revolution and robbing people of their right to choose their president.
Ironically, it is the Brotherhood that has been accused of "hijacking" the revolution by the groups that drove the uprising but have been largely sidelined in parliamentary elections and the presidential race.
The disqualifications add to the drama of a transition marked by spasms of violence and bitter political rivalries between Islamists, secular-minded reformists and remnants of the Mubarak order.
Al-Shater, who became an immediate frontrunner after joining the election race in late March, was disqualified due to past criminal convictions. Brotherhood members were often jailed for their political activities under Mubarak, who excluded the movement from formal politics.
Anticipating Al-Shater's disqualification, the Brotherhood, which now dominates parliament following free elections held in the wake of Mubarak's removal, had nominated Mohamed Mursi, head of its political party, as a reserve candidate.
Morsi is the leader of the group's political arm and a close associate of Al-Shater. But he is not considered as strong a candidate as his mentor.
Violation
A lawyer for Salafi preacher Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, the most hardline of the various Islamists running for the post, said there would be "a major crisis" now that his client was barred from the race.
On Friday, his supporters besieged the headquarters of the election commission, forcing it to evacuate the premises and suspend its work. Abu Ismail said the accusation that his mother held US citizenship was fabricated by his political opponents.
"The presidential committee has violated all the rules of law," Abu Ismail said in remarks published on his Facebook page. "If the official decision is to violate the constitution, they should be able to deal with the consequences."
Military police and state security were guarding the headquarters of the election committee in Cairo, state media reported.
Abu Ismail is out of the race because his mother holds another nationality, violating election rules which state that all candidates, their parents and their wives must have only Egyptian citizenship.
Last week an Egyptian court had cleared the way for Abu Ismail to join the race after ruling that his mother was not a US citizen.
Others who have been disqualified include Ayman Nour, who caught the world's attention when he challenged Mubarak in 2005 presidential elections.
Nour was imprisoned shortly after those elections and released on health grounds in 2009. He was banned under the same rule as the Muslim Brotherhood's Al-Shater.
Farouk Sultan, head of the presidential election commission, told Reuters a total of 10 of the 23 candidates had been disqualified. The reason cited by the commission was "because they do not fill one or more of the required conditions."
Frontrunners still in the race include Amr Moussa, a former Arab League Secretary General and Egyptian foreign minister, and Abdel Moneim Abol Fotoh, who was expelled from the Brotherhood last year when he mounted his own presidential campaign.
In an interview with Reuters on Saturday, before his exclusion was announced, Suleiman said the domination of politics by the Brotherhood would hold the country back. But he said if he became president, the party could serve in his government and would be a vital part of Egyptian political life.
Suleiman, 74, said he was running for office in response to public demands for a counterweight to Islamist influence.
"This is why they sought me, as a balance between Islamists and civilian forces," said Suleiman.
He describes himself as a devout Muslim but said that Egyptians fear their country is being turned into a theocracy.
The Brotherhood, in addition to dominating parliament, chairs an assembly that was formed to write a new constitution before a court suspended its activities last week. Liberal groups had walked out of the assembly, saying it failed to reflect Egypt's diversity.
"Many people felt that the state is going to the Muslim Brotherhood — in parliament, in government and now the presidency," Suleiman said, while conceding that the Brotherhood was "a very important segment of Egyptian society."
With Al-Shater's elimination, the race has become less polarized, said Emad Gad, a lawmaker from the new Egyptian Social Democratic Party. But the Brotherhood must now compensate for its overreaching for power, he said.
"They must learn the lesson," Gad said. "They need to reach agreement with many forces, the military council, the civil groups, and restructure the constituent assembly in an acceptable manner. This time, there must be a guarantee from the military council over how the panel is formed."
There are signs that the Brotherhood is trying to reach a consensus on the panel to write the constitution.
A meeting between the military council and political parties, including the Brotherhood, reached an initial agreement to restructure the panel. They agreed to the demands of secular groups to form the panel solely from members outside of parliament, said Emad Abdel Ghaffour, the head of the ultraconservative Salafi party, who was at the meeting.


Clic here to read the story from its source.