In an apparent policy reversal, the Muslim Brotherhood is contemplating fielding a presidential candidate, senior members said Wednesday, to the anger of some within the group.
AP reported that Brotherhood leader Mahmoud Hussein said Wednesday that the organization is under pressure from Egypt’s ruling military. He said the generals have rejected its demands to form a new coalition government and are trying to persuade presidential candidates to turn down Brotherhood support.
The Brotherhood had repeatedly asserted that it would not field a candidate in the presidential race and would endorse a non-party member. It expelled presidential hopeful Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh for declaring his intention to run and thereby violating the group decree.
Many believed the Brotherhood was stepping back in an attempt to assuage voter fears of an Islamist takeover.
The group has remained tight-lipped about which candidate it would back, saying it would wait until the official nomination process ended.
“The Brotherhood might choose to back one of its own as a presidential candidate for Egypt given the lack of choices,” Medhat Hadad, a member of the group's Shura Council which decides on policy, told Reuters.
“Of those who applied already, the Brotherhood has not found a presidential candidate it is willing to support,” he said.
Another source inside the Brotherhood told Reuters that the Islamist group's Shura Council and its governing body would vote on Friday to determine whether to change course and field their own candidate.
Hadad said the Brotherhood would not back Abouel Fotouh as a matter of principle after he defied the group's earlier order not to run.
A group of Muslim Brotherhood youth members launched a campaign on Wednesday called “Cry of the Muslim Brotherhood,” calling on the organization's leaders to stand by their earlier decision, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.
They staged a vigil in front of the Brotherhood headquarters rejecting the possibility that the group would field a candidate. They also called on their leaders to rescind the decision to expel members who violated the organization's decrees.
It was not clear who could be the Brotherhood's candidate. Possible contenders include Khairat al-Shater, a deputy to the Brotherhood's leader and an accomplished businessman, although one insider told Reuters that this was unlikely.
Before any bid, Shater would have to request that a military tribunal annul his conviction in 2007 for allegedly supplying university students with military training. He was sentenced to seven years in jail, and was freed with many other Brotherhood members in 2011 after serving four-and-a-half years, Reuters noted.
Shater's supporters have said he would be the black horse of the election race and 13 members of the Brotherhood’s Shura Council reportedly said they would support Shater. Council member Sayed Nazily said no final decision has been made, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Salafi leaders told Egypt Independent's sister paper they met with the group to express support for Shater's candidacy.
