Egypt's ruler to meet politicians as key presidential candidates get disqualified

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's military ruler will hold talks with political leaders on Sunday, April 15 after next month's presidential election was thrown into further turmoil with the disqualification of key candidates, AFP reported.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi will meet the heads of political parties and groups to discuss major developments five weeks ahead of the first presidential election since a popular uprising ousted long-time leader Hosni Mubarak last year, state media reported.

On Saturday, Egypt's election commission said that 10 of the 23 registered presidential candidates had been barred from the race, including ex-spy chief Omar Suleiman, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Khairat El-Shater and popular Salafist politician Hazem Abu Ismail.

Suleiman's registration had infuriated the political forces who were at the forefront of last year's revolt, with many believing that his candidacy was proof that promises of a transition to democracy were merely cosmetic.

Meanwhile secular groups were furious over Shater's candidacy, accusing the Muslim Brotherhood of monopolising politics after dominating parliament and a panel tasked with drafting the constitution.

Abu Ismail is out of the race because his mother holds another nationality, violating election rules which state that all candidates, their parents and their wives must have only Egyptian citizenship.