Paper: Egypt's interim head of state won’t run for president

November 19, 2013 - 12:16 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's interim head of state Adly Mansour will not run for president in elections slated for next year, a Kuwaiti newspaper on Tuesday, Nov 19, quoted him as saying, according to Reuters.

Mansour was sworn in as interim president on July 4, a day after the Egyptian army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against his rule.

Mursi had appointed him as head of the constitutional court, but he was not sworn in as head of the court until hours before he took the oath as interim president.

When asked by Kuwait's al-Seyassah newspaper whether he would run for president, Mansour said: "No... No, I will return to my office and my work at the constitutional court."

Western allies have watched with dismay as the most populous Arab state stumbled on its path to democracy after a popular uprising toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Saying it was responding to the will of the people, the army removed Mursi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, from power and promised a political roadmap that would lead to free and fair elections.

Authorities have also embarked on a tough crackdown on Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Under the roadmap, Mansour will remain head of the interim government until presidential elections are held, due to follow parliamentary polls and the approval of amendments to the suspended constitution in a referendum.

In an interview earlier this month, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said parliamentary elections would take place in February or March, with presidential polls slated for early summer.

No prominent figures have publicly stated their intentions to run for president, but speculation has been rising that army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the man who deposed Mursi, could contest the vote.

Sisi has emerged as Egypt's most popular public figure and analysts say he would become president if he ran for office. He is seen as a decisive leader who can restore stability.