Seven prominent Egyptian presidential candidates, including Amr Moussa, Mohamed el-Baradei, Salim al-Awa, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, Hisham Bastawisi and Hamdeen Sabbahi, will meet for the third time in two weeks this afternoon to discuss the political situation in Egypt, sources told Youm7. The meeting will be confidential to ensure frank discussion about the implementation of the transitional move from military rule to civilian rule, including a time schedule, sources said. It is expected that the candidates will discuss the amendment of the election law, the results of the meetings with the ruling military council last week, the reinstatement of the emergency powers law, the so-called Committee of 100 (as proposed by Moussa) and a timeline for power transfer to a civilian government. The candidates' meetings have sparked much speculation. The candidates reportedly agreed to escalate demonstrations against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) if power is not handed over to civilians by February. The parties agreed to refrain from any announcements until decisions are finalized. Parties agreed to continue discussions on current affairs and identification of issues, according to a statement released after the conclusion of the second meeting. Sources denied that any one of the seven candidates chose representatives to speak on their behalf in meetings with SCAF. Parties agreed to speak together on collectively agreed upon issues and next steps, sources reported.
