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| Africa North |
| Former spymaster stirs up Egypt presidential race |
| 2012-04-08 |
| EGYPT'S powerful spy chief under the deposed president Hosni Mubarak has roiled the country's presidential race by announcing his candidacy and presenting himself as the best choice for restoring security and prosperity. Omar Suleiman's announcement was widely seen as a game changer in the landmark election scheduled for next month. The prospect of his return to power would have been laughable a year ago, when he vanished from public view after sombrely announcing the country's long-time autocratic ruler was stepping down. But much has changed since that afternoon of February 11 last year. Islamists have thrived in the country's newly open political system, alarming secular Egyptians and Western nations that would like to see non-Islamists leading Egypt. In addition, a large segment of Egyptian society has come to yearn for the safety and relative prosperity that prevailed until the popular uprising sent the economy into a tailspin and eroded the pillars of the country's police state. Mr Suleiman's candidacy broadens a field of front runners dominated by Islamists. Political analysts said his entry, coming just days after he publicly ruled out a presidential bid, suggests the ruling military council opted to anoint him as a contender, possibly in response to the Muslim Brotherhood's decision to field a candidate and robust support for more hard-line Islamist candidates. It offers Egyptians their clearest choice yet between the old order and the new: a contender who is an old hand of the Mubarak-era security establishment facing off against Islamists who were banned from politics under the government he served. ''It just became a more interesting race, because it has become increasingly clear the regime has not collapsed,'' the chairman of the history department at the American University in Cairo, Khaled Fahmy, said. ''This represents the realisation that the stand-off with Islamists in parliament is very serious to them.'' Mr Suleiman, a former army general, has remained largely invisible since the final days of Mr Mubarak's rule, during which he served briefly as vice-president. Unlike the ousted president and several of his senior loyalists, Mr Suleiman has not been put on trial. The balding former spymaster was among Washington's closest backers in the Middle East in recent years, championing Egypt's unpopular alliance with neighbouring Israel. The agency he ran played a big role in the rendition of US terrorism suspects. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #1 Omar is back! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-04-08 03:45 |