On April 6, former vice president and head of intelligence Omar Suleiman announced that he will run for president, reneging on an earlier decision to drop out of the race. Suleiman claimed to have changed his mind after a small group of protesters gathered urged him to continue his campaign, in a stunt reminiscent of former president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who said he would resign but then held a national referendum to show that Egyptians wanted him to remain in office. The Brotherhood’s candidate Khairat al-Shater said he considers Suleiman’s presidential bid “an insult to the revolution and the Egyptian people," said Khairat al-Shater, the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate.
ELECTIONS:
1) On April 6, former vice president and head of intelligence Omar Suleiman announced that he will run for president, reneging on an earlier decision to drop out of the race. Suleiman claimed to have changed his mind after a small group of protesters gathered urged him to continue his campaign, in a stunt reminiscent of former president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who said he would resign but then held a national referendum to show that Egyptians wanted him to remain in office. The Brotherhood’s candidate Khairat al-Shater said he considers Suleiman’s presidential bid “an insult to the revolution and the Egyptian people," said Khairat al-Shater, the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate. [New York Times, English, 4/9/2012]
2) Presidential candidate Omar Suleiman denied that the SCAF is backing his candidacy, claiming that the SCAF learned of the announcement from the media and was not involved in his decision to run. Suleiman also said he supports the “legitimate goals of revolution” and claims to have received death threats from Muslim Brotherhood. [al-Ahram, English, 4/9/2012]
3) The Muslim Brotherhood is running Mohamed Morsi as an “alternate” presidential candidate in the event that Khairat al-Shater is disqualified by a legal challenge. [AFP, English, 4/9/2012]
4) The People’s Assembly Proposals and Complaints Committee has approved a bill amending the presidential election law to ban former regime figures from running for president, but the revised law will need to be approved by the SCAF to take effect. [al-Masry al-Youm, English, 4/9/2012]
5) At his first official press conference as a presidential candidate on April 9, the Brotherhood’s candidate Khairat al-Shater emphasized the need for economic, political reform to ensure success of a “national renaissance project.” [al-Ahram, English, 4/9/2012]
6) The Supreme Administrative Court ruled that Ayman Nour is ineligible to run for the presidency because of his criminal conviction in 2005, even though the SCAF pardoned and restored his political rights earlier in April. The court referred to a law disqualifying any candidate who had been jailed for a six-year period or who has not recovered the right to run for office despite being pardoned. [The Daily News Egypt, English, 4/9/2012]
7) Former presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei announced that he is working to license a new party, the Thawra (Revolution) Party, which will serve as an umbrella for organizing civil and revolutionary political forces. The new party is also supported by economist Galal Amin, Professor of International Law Hossam Eissa, Novelist Alaa al-Aswany, Ambassador Shoukry Fouad, political activists Gameela Ismail and George Isaac, and the revolutionary activist Shadi al-Ghazali Harb. [al-Masry al-Youm, English, 4/9/2012] [al-Masry al-Youm, Arabic, 4/9/2012]
PARLIAMENT:
8) An argument occurred in parliament on April 9 between Speaker Saad al-Katatny and Adl Party MP Mostafa al-Naggar after Naggar said that Parliament cannot withdraw confidence from the government. Al-Katatny responded, “I, on behalf of Parliament, say we will withdraw confidence from the government, and you should read the bylaws to become familiar with the withdrawal of confidence procedures.” Independent MP Amr Hamzawy also made a statement affirming the parliament’s ability to withdraw confidence from the government, but questioned whether this is the right time to stage a no-confidence vote, given the current political tensions. [al-Masry al-Youm, English, 4/9/2012] [al-Shorouk, Arabic, 4/9/2012]
Photo Credit: EPA
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