Mixed reports broke Saturday about whether former Vice President Omar Suleiman will run for president.
The doors for nominations are set to open 10 March.
Controversy was started on Facebook and Twitter after talk show host Amr al-Leithy said on his show, “90 Minutes,” aired on the privately-owned channel Mehwar, that a source close to Suleiman informed Leithy he intends to run for president and will officially announce it by the beginning of March.
Suleiman didn’t confirm or deny the news, but journalist Adel Hammouda, who is known for close relations with the intelligence — which Suleiman ran from 1993 until the beginning of 2011, when he was appointed vice president — denied it.
On Saturday, Hammouda told Al-Qahira Al-Youm talk show, broadcast on the privately-owned Orbit channel, that a friend of his who is also close to Suleiman said the latter completely denied the news.
Some Facebook users started to rally for Suleiman’s nomination, mentioning his experience and posts he occupied.
But other users attacked the former vice president, saying he was former President Hosni Mubarak’s right-hand man. They blamed him for crimes that happened early in the 25 January revolution, as well as for exporting gas to Israel and the blockade on Gaza.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
