Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Gulf News

Cairo “If you are bold, vote for Shafiq.” So chanted hundreds of supporters of Ahmad Shafiq as he appeared at a recent rally near Cairo to promote his presidential bid.

Shafiq, an ex-army general, was appointed prime minister on January 29, 2011 by Hosni Mubarak — 13 days before a popular revolt removed Mubarak from power.

Shafiq’s bid is generating a massive controversy as he is scrambling with 12 other rivals in Egypt’s first post-Mubarak presidential election due to begin on May 23.

“Those who are speaking against me should know that I’m a warrior who served in the army for 40 years,” Shafiq, 70, told his audience.

“I fought many battles and served Egypt, not Mubarak’s regime,” he added. “No one can strip me of the honour of continuing to serve my country.”

Shafiq’s detractors, mainly the youth who led the revolt against Mubarak, call him a felul or a remnant of the former regime and are pushing for abstaining from voting for him.

Shafiq has survived a controversial ban, passed by the parliament last month, barring senior officials who served in the last 10 years of Mubarak’s rule or held senior posts in the now-disbanded ruling party.

An official commission, overseeing the presidential election, accepted Shafiq’s appeal after he had been briefly excluded from the race.

Silent majority

Shafiq said that after leaving the premier’s seat, he did not plan to run for president. “I changed my mind when I saw the situation deteriorating in Egypt after the revolution,” he added.

Many of the posters campaigning for Shafiq across Cairo have been removed or distorted by opponents. However, he seems unfazed.

“I think I have a great chance to win in the election because I have a wide popularity among the silent majority in this country who want stability and security to be restored,” he said.

An opinion poll carried by the semi-official newspaper earlier this month showed Shafiq advancing with 17.2 per cent.

Amr Mousa, Egypt’s former foreign minister, and Abdul Moneim Abul Fotouh, viewed as the top contenders, have come in the first and second places respectively.

By Ramadan Al Sherbini?Correspondent

Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.