By Dina Zayed
CAIRO (Reuters) – Former Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said on
Friday he would run for president if supporters complete his paperwork within a day, putting one of ousted leader Hosni
Mubarak’s closest allies back in the race days after he ruled himself out.
image of him as they gather in Abassiya Square in Cairo April 6, 2012. Suleiman said on Friday he would run for president if
supporters complete his paperwork within a day, putting one of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's closest allies back in the
race days after he ruled himself out. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Nominations close on Sunday for Egypt’s first free presidential race, which is set to pit Islamists
against those who served under the ousted president.
Suleiman, 74, served for years as Mubarak’s head of military
intelligence and General Intelligence Service. Mubarak named him vice president in January last year during a popular
uprising, and attempted to transfer powers to him before quitting in disgrace.
In a statement circulated by campaign
aides, Suleiman said public demand had convinced him to run if he could obtain the necessary registration of 30,000
supporters by Saturday.
“I have been shaken by your strong position,” said the statement, addressed to ‘citizens of
Egypt’. “The call you have directed is an order and I am a soldier who has never disobeyed an order.”
“Your call and
your faith in my ability is an honour,” it added. Suleiman had said on Wednesday he would not run.
Hundreds of
Suleiman supporters staged a rally in Cairo on Friday carrying banners reading “Suleiman, save Egypt” and “We don’t want the
Islamists”. As a candidate, he could appeal to the army and voters worried about the prospect of a rise to power by Islamists
that were repressed by Mubarak.
Earlier on Friday, thousands of supporters of Salafi Islamist Hazem Salah Abu Ismail
demonstrated against what they called an official plot to stop the ultraconservative sheikh from contesting the presidential
election.
Abu Ismail had emerged as one of the frontrunners for the race but the electoral commission said on Thursday
it was checking information his mother had a U.S. passport – potentially disqualifying him.
His climbing popularity
has alarmed secular Egyptians afraid of an ultra-conservative ruler at the helm and compounded worries that Islamists were
dominating Egypt’s institutions after they won a majority of seats in parliament. Islamists now control an assembly writing
the new constitution.
‘CONVINCE HIM TO RUN’
Suleiman and his aides have been giving mixed signals for weeks
about whether he would actually stand. His aides seem to want to create the impression that he is a reluctant figure
responding to a groundswell of public support.
“Suleiman decided to run because anyone who loves this country has been
begging him to do so. He has even had to switch off his phone because of the number of calls he was receiving to convince him
to run,” campaign aide Saad Abbasy told Reuters.
Egyptian activists have been speculating that Suleiman would emerge
as a candidate backed by the ruling military council that Mubarak handed power to. They believe Suleiman would guard the
army’s economic interests and budget from civilian oversight.
He would not be the only military figure and former
Mubarak associate on the ballot. Ahmed Shafiq, 70, a former air force commander and civil aviation minister who was appointed
as Mubarak’s last prime minister in the final days of the uprising, has also announced his candidacy.
About a dozen
other candidates are also standing, including former Arab League chief Amr Moussa and several Islamists.
Abu Ismail’s
followers accuse Western countries and Egypt’s ruling generals of trying to force the ultra-conservative off the ballot
after an opinion poll tipped him for second place.
Perhaps encouraged by Abu Ismail’s popularity, the more pragmatic
Muslim Brotherhood also announced it would field a candidate after earlier saying it would not.
“Abu Ismail is the man
most fit for the job,” said Salah el-Saed, a 21-year old university student, as he held up a banner showing the smiling
candidate in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
“My faith in him has not and will not be shaken by these false lies. This is a
conspiracy. They want someone like Suleiman to win,” he added.
Some banners at the Islamist protest called for the
hanging of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling council, if the council attempted to falsify the
election.
Under Egypt’s election rules, both of a candidate’s parents must be Egyptian and with no dual citizenship.
The electoral commission said it was waiting for information from the foreign ministry before Abu Ismail’s registration
could be confirmed.
Abu Ismail’s campaign has said it will file a suit against the Interior Ministry because it
refused to provide any documents on his mother’s citizenship.
The protesters, some wearing face masks with Abu
Ismail’s picture, chanted “She is Egyptian, she is Egyptian” and “Hazem! Hazem! We want Hazem!”