The Muslim Brotherhood’s chief
presidential candidate said Egypt’s economy faces grave dangers,
while rival Omar Suleiman denied that he was seeking to restore
the ousted regime with his run for office.
Khairat el-Shater, the millionaire businessman who served
as the Brotherhood’s chief financier, said that a new political
system coupled with a restoration of security are necessary for
Egypt’s economy to advance. “We are facing a very difficult and
grave challenge,” he said in a televised press conference,
referring to Egypt’s debt-servicing costs and the needs of its
citizens.
Suleiman, Mubarak’s longtime intelligence chief who served
as vice president during the ousted ruler’s last days, said last
year’s uprising had created a new reality and cannot be
reversed. No one “can restore a regime that collapsed and ended
and was rejected” by all Egyptians, Suleiman said in an
interview with the state-run al-Akhbar newspaper.
Twenty-three candidates had registered to run in the
presidential election when nominations closed yesterday, the
state-run Middle East News Agency reported. The first round of
voting will be held May 23 and 24, with a second round in June
if required.