Former Egyptian prime minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq sought Saturday, May 26 to dispel his authoritarian image by vowing to uphold democratic principles and respect all segments of society, according to The Washington Post.

“We all sought to achieve for Egypt a democracy it thirsted for,” Shafiq, one of the two politicians who will compete in a runoff following this week’s presidential vote told reporters Saturday. “Our visions differed, our methods varied. That is the nature of democracy.”

Many Egyptians see the prospect of a Shafiq presidency as a continuation of the type of authoritarian regimen they set out to dismantle last year in the popular revolt that led to President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Conservative Islamists were among the most repressed Egyptians under Mubarak’s government, and Shadiq made curbing the rise of Islamist politics a cornerstone of his campaign. But he struck a conciliatory tone Saturday, saying that he intends, if elected, to preside over “a country that can contain everyone and is for everyone.”

Preliminary results Friday from state media showed that after the initial round in the first free presidential election in Egypt’s modern history, the field of 13 had been whittled to two candidates who represent the heavyweight forces of Egyptian politics — the Muslim Brotherhood and the military.