The Foreign Ministry has said it has a neutral position on all presidential candidates, denying claims on some websites that a number of its officials signed a statement asking former spy chief and Vice President Omar Suleiman to put himself forward for presidency.
It also denied any bias in communicating the Presidential Election Commission’s enquiries regarding the nationality of presidential candidates to the relevant foreign authorities.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said none of its members signed a petition supporting Suleiman for presidency, and that the photocopy of the alleged petition only included the names, not the signatures, of figures who have been accused of asking Suleiman to run.
The statement added that several of those whose names appeared in the alleged petition denied knowledge of it.
The statement added that according to Article 58 of Law 45/1982 on diplomatic and consular affairs, amended by Law 69/2009, officials with diplomatic and consular jobs are not allowed to engage in partisan activity, join political parties, or nominate themselves for membership of parliament or local councils until they submit their resignations.
The ministry said it will carry out its role in the coming election with integrity and transparency, as it did in the recent parliamentary election.
It said the role it played in the parliamentary election highlighted the cooperation between Egypt’s foreign missions and Egyptian communities overseas, who participated in all stages of the elections, including registration, voting and vote-counting.
