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Egypt Muslim Brotherhood Mulls Run For Presidency
CAIRO -- The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political group, said Wednesday it is considering running its own candidate in upcoming presidential elections, dropping its previous decision to avoid direct participation in the race.
The group appears to be playing one of its last cards in a power struggle against the ruling military council, after it failed to force the military to replace its Cabinet with a new one appointed by the Islamist-dominated parliament.
If a Brotherhood fields a candidate and wins the presidency, the group would control the two main branches of power. In parliamentary elections, the first since a popular uprising unseated President Hosni Mubarak last year, it won nearly half the seats.
Since then, the Brotherhood has sought to allay fears of local liberals as well as Egypt's Western allies about an Islamist takeover by saying it would not field its own candidate for president. Elections are set for May 23-24.
That appears to have changed. Mahmoud Hussein, the Brotherhood's general secretary, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his group has been "forced to consider the option of fielding a candidate from its own ranks."
Besides rejecting its demand for a new Cabinet, Hussein charged that the generals are working behind the scenes to persuade presidential candidates to turn down Brotherhood support.
"When we reach out to some people, they either refuse because they feel they are not up to the mission or they come under pressure from the military council," he said. He declined to give names.
Another factor is that younger Brotherhood members are disobeying the group's leadership by supporting a former Brotherhood leader, Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, who was expelled from the movement after he announced his decision to join the race.
Abolfotoh, a strong presidential hopeful, also has the backing of some liberals, who see him as a reformer.
CAIRO -- The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political group, said Wednesday it is considering running its own candidate in upcoming presidential elections, dropping its previous decision to avoid direct participation in the race.
The group appears to be playing one of its last cards in a power struggle against the ruling military council, after it failed to force the military to replace its Cabinet with a new one appointed by the Islamist-dominated parliament.
If a Brotherhood fields a candidate and wins the presidency, the group would control the two main branches of power. In parliamentary elections, the first since a popular uprising unseated President Hosni Mubarak last year, it won nearly half the seats.
Since then, the Brotherhood has sought to allay fears of local liberals as well as Egypt's Western allies about an Islamist takeover by saying it would not field its own candidate for president. Elections are set for May 23-24.
That appears to have changed. Mahmoud Hussein, the Brotherhood's general secretary, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his group has been "forced to consider the option of fielding a candidate from its own ranks."
Besides rejecting its demand for a new Cabinet, Hussein charged that the generals are working behind the scenes to persuade presidential candidates to turn down Brotherhood support.
"When we reach out to some people, they either refuse because they feel they are not up to the mission or they come under pressure from the military council," he said. He declined to give names.
Another factor is that younger Brotherhood members are disobeying the group's leadership by supporting a former Brotherhood leader, Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, who was expelled from the movement after he announced his decision to join the race.
Abolfotoh, a strong presidential hopeful, also has the backing of some liberals, who see him as a reformer.
