ElBaradei says he could run for Egypt’s President

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egyptian opposition activist Mohamed ElBaradei could run for President in future elections if asked by the people, Reuters reported.

ElBaradei was quoted by Der Standard newspaper as saying that President Hosni Mubarak should step down immediately, but that he should be able to do so with "dignity."

"I am an agent for change in Egypt. If it comes, then I would have done my duty. I stand above the parties, which gives me more flexibility to express myself clearly," he said, when asked whether he would stand in presidential elections.

"Naturally I want to play a part in the future, but who stands in the election, that's really not so important at the moment. But if the people want it, of course I would be available," ElBaradei said.

"If the Egyptian people want me to continue the change process, I will not disappoint the Egyptian people," Al Jazeera quoted him as saying.

Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League and former Egyptian foreign minister, said he would consider running in elections to replace embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, according to Today’s Zaman.

Youssef Boutros-Ghali, who was replaced as Egypt's finance minister in a cabinet shake-up this week amid violent protests to topple President Hosni Mubarak, resigned on February 4 as head of the International Monetary Fund's main policy steering panel, the fund said.

Boutros-Ghali could have continued as chair of the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) even though he is no longer Egypt's finance minister, but the IMF said he had resigned with immediate effect, Reuters reported.