Officials from an Egyptian opposition party Sunday expressed support for former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed El-Baradie's bid to run for president in this country's 2011 presidential vote. The leaders of the Constitutional Social Liberal Party said Baradie, who is due to arrive to Egypt later this month from Austria where he lives with his family, was capable of leading Egypt in the years to come so that this country can “go back on track yet again”. “He is a man of law and very experienced as well,” said Mamdouh Qenawi, the chairman and the founder of the six-year-old party. “He knows Egypt so well and he can redress the mistakes committed by decades of corrupt rule here,” he told The Gazette in an interview. Qenawi, in his late seventies, gave el-Baradie honorary membership of his party along with several other public figures, including Egyptian-American Nobel Prize Laureate Ahmed Zeweil, a few days ago. A former presidential candidate himself, Qenawi, who is also a lawyer by profession, said he had told el-Baradie in a previous telephone interview that he could be his party's candidate in the next presidential elections. The former IAEA chief, however, has refused to do this. He said he wanted to run as an independent candidate. “He is a man of principles,” Qenawi said. “El-Baradie doesn't want to make this country's political parties a bridge for presidency,” he added. Egypt's constitution makes it necessary for a presidential candidate to be a political party member or get support from a certain number of representative council members. But Baradie's candidacy for the presidency has become a sticky issue since the man declared readiness to run in the elections months ago. He said he would not run unless certain conditions were met, including the presence of international supervision over the elections. While the Government vehemently rejects such a proposal, considering it an “intervention” in Egypt's domestic affairs and a “violation” of its sovereignty, the criticism of pro-government writers and activists have taken aim at Baradie. Some people considered him unfit to rule, having spent a long time outside Egypt. Others tried to circulated rumours about him being an “agent” of the west and the US, in particular. “This campaign of smear has showed the ugly face of some of our country's officials,” Qenawi said. “This man shouldn't be treated like that,” he added. Despite this, Baradie found several supporters within the ranks of the people and the nation's activists. A campaign for gathering powers of attorney from the people started weeks ago with the aim of giving el-Baradie the right to call for amending the constitution. Some people say Qenawi's support can lure other political parties into supporting Baradie, the thing that can make him eligible to run in the elections at the end of the day.
