The campaign for the leftist presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabbahi said on Saturday that it has obtained endorsements from more than 30,000 people, adding that it will reveal the total number of signatures soon.
In a statement, the campaign said that all the figures published about the number of signatures Sabbahi has supporting his nomination are inaccurate. It said it will announce the correct number within days, adding that the total number exceeds 30,000.
According to the Presidential Elections Law, non-partisan applicants must secure the endorsement of 30 lawmakers or 30,000 people in at least 15 of Egypt's 27 provinces in order to run. Applicants from political parties with at least one member in parliament are exempt from these endorsements.
Sabbahi’s presidential campaign added that it has yet to satisfy the condition of obtaining signatures from 15 governorates.
The campaign said it is capable of meeting the conditions. “Our goal is not to get the highest number of signatures. We seek to achieve the best geographical distribution as well as represent all categories in society, in order to reflect the strength of our candidate and his popularity across geographical areas.”
It said it will only announce the total number of signatures obtained after they have been reviewed, in order to maintain credibility.
The campaign also said Sabbahi has not yet decided when he will submit his nomination documents to the high elections commission. The date will be announced to the media as soon as Sabbahi decides.
On Friday Amr Moussa, former chief of the Arab League and Mubarak-era foreign minister, submitted 50,000 signatures to the high elections commission.
Moussa is seen as a front-runner in the first presidential vote since last year's ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising.
