CAIRO - Egypt's military rulers denied Thursday they were behind a campaign calling for the country's military chief to run for president. 'We have nothing at all to do with this campaign,' the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram quoted a military source as saying. Hundreds of posters have appeared around Cairo and the coastal city of Alexandria calling for the head of Egypt's ruling military council, Hussein Tantawi, to stand for presidency. Supporters of the campaign, dubbed 'Egypt is above Everyone', said Tatawi was the 'best qualified' to lead the country to 'genuine democracy.' 'The Armed Forces have already announced keenness to hold parliamentary and presidential elections to hand power over to an elected civilian authority,' added the military source. 'We are committed to handing power over to civilians,' said the source. The military council has been in control of Egypt since a popular revolt unseated Hosny Mubarak in February. 'The campaign aims at putting pressure on Tantawi to nominate himself for presidency because this is a public demand,' said Ahmed Saad, an official in the campaign. The pro-Tantawi posters show him clad in his trademark military uniform. Tantawi, Mubarak's longtime defence minister, recently denied that there would be a military contender in Egypt's presidential election. No exact date has yet been set for the presidential election, which is expected to be held in late 2012.
