Ten Egyptian presidential candidates, including Hosni Mubarak’s spy chief, a Muslim Brotherhood leader and an Islamist preacher, lost appeals on Tuesday against disqualification from the race, shaking the political landscape weeks before the historic vote.
The disqualifications of top Mubarak aide Omar Suleiman, the Brotherhood’s Khairat al-Shater and Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a popular preacher of the strict Islamist Salafi school, help the chances of secular liberals as well as other Islamists in the first free vote for a leader of the most populous Arab state.
The Brotherhood, the best organised political force in Egypt, is still in the race thanks to its nomination of Mohamed Mursi, the head of the group’s political party, as a back-up candidate. – (Reuters)