Brotherhood nixes ex-intel chief’s bid

CAIRO

Suleiman (C), former spy chief of Egypt, submits his candidacy papers to the electoral commission. Suleiman says his bid does not have the support of the military. AP photo

A bid for power by Hosni Mubarak’s former intelligence chief is an insult to Egypt’s revolution that, if successful, would trigger a second nationwide revolt, the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for Egypt’s presidency said.

In his first public comments since being nominated by the Brotherhood on March 31, Khayrat al-Shater played down fears of a clash between the powerful Islamist movement and the army generals who have ruled Egypt since Mubarak was ousted last year. But he warned the Brotherhood would not back a $3.2 billion emergency IMF loan requested by the army-backed government unless the terms are changed or the government steps down and lets a new administration oversee how the funds are spent.

In an interview with Reuters on April 8, al-Shater denounced former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman’s eleventh-hour decision to seek his former boss’s job. Mubarak made Suleiman vice president just before losing power. “I consider his entry an insult to the revolution and the Egyptian people,” said Shater, who said he spent 12 years in jail during the Mubarak era. “Omar Suleiman has made a big mistake. He will only win through forgery and, if this happens, the revolution will kick off again.”

Death threats

Suleiman said his bid for the presidency does not have the support of Egypt’s military rulers and accused Islamists of sending him death threats, an Egyptian newspaper reported yesterday.

“The supreme council has no relation, neither negatively nor positively, with my decision to join the race for the presidency,” Suleiman said in an interview published in the state’s Al-Akhbar newspaper yesterday. “And indeed, as soon as my nomination for the presidency was announced, I received on my personal mobile and through some people close to me death threats and messages saying ‘we will take revenge’ from members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups,” he added.