"The party will announce its presidential candidate in due time,” Mohamed Kamal, education and training secretary for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), said in regard to next year's presidential elections.
Kamal's comments contradict earlier statements by Information Minister Ali Eddin Hilal, who said two weeks ago that President Hosni Mubarak would be the party's nominee in the 2011 presidential race.
Kamal denied that delays in announcing the party's candidate would open the door to meaningless speculation.
“There's no room for conjecture,” he said. “The matter isn't on the NDP’s agenda at the moment, but I guarantee that the party will stand united behind whatever candidate it ultimately chooses.”
According to Kamal, upcoming parliamentary elections–slated for 28 November–represented the party's overriding concern at the moment. “This election is very important to us, given the attention it will receive both locally and internationally.”
He went on to stress that electoral campaigns waged by the ruling party's parliamentary candidates would comply with all the rules laid down by Egypt's High Elections Commission.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
