Egypt's ex-VP Omar Suleiman to join presidential race

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's former vice-president, Omar Suleiman, has said he intends to be a candidate in Egypt's presidential elections next month, BBC News reported.

He had previously ruled himself out of the race, but changed his mind after demonstrators urged him to run. Mr Suleiman served as Hosni Mubarak's vice-president before Mr Mubarak was ousted last year.

Salafist candidate Hazem Abu Ismail, and Khairat al-Shater from the Muslim Brotherhood, are also in the race. Mr Suleiman is supported by those who say the country is descending into chaos and losing direction.

Prior to the Egyptian revolution, the former intelligence chief had often been mentioned as a possible successor to the 82-year-old Mr Mubarak. A close ally of the former president, Mr Suleiman was seen as a pivotal figure in Mr Mubarak's 30-rule rule.

Nominations for the presidential election are due to close this weekend. The presidential vote is the first since Mr Mubarak was overthrown in February 2011 after a popular uprising.

The military-run caretaker government is due to hand over power in June. Meanwhile, thousands of Egyptians have protested in Cairo's Tahrir Square in support of a conservative Islamist presidential candidate, Hazem Abu Ismail.

Mr Abu Ismail, who supports an ultra-conservative version of Islam, may be disqualified from May's presidential election on the grounds that his mother was a U.S. citizen.

Muslim Brotherhood candidate Khairat al-Shater registered on Thursday; the party had previously said it would not field a presidential candidate.