Presidential candidates ( Group A)

Backing the Brotherhood

Amani Maged interviews Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections and assesses his chances of success

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Mohamed Mursi is the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. Born in 1951 in the Sharqiya governorate, Mursi graduated with honours from the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University and then went to the US for graduate studies, obtaining a doctorate in engineering from the University of Southern California in 1982.

From there, he worked as an assistant professor at California State University in North Ridge. In 1985, he returned to Egypt, where he became professor and head of the materials engineering department at the Faculty of Engineering at Zagazig University. He continued in this post until 2010, during which time he also worked for a period at the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University.

Mursi's relationship with the political bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood began when it was founded in 1992. He ran for parliament in 1995 and 2000, being elected an MP in the latter elections and becoming spokesman for the Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc. On 30 April 2011, he was elected chair of the Brotherhood's recently founded political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party.

In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Mursi explained his political ideas and programme.

In your view, what is the nature of the current crisis between the parliament and the government?

The government has failed miserably in its task of running the country. Its management has only wrought further attrition. We have therefore called for it to be dissolved and for someone else to be charged with forming a new government. If this is impossible, the present government should only continue for a two-month period in a caretaking capacity. Anything else would not be acceptable.

Would you consider working together with Islamist presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh in a future administration?

It is premature to speak about forming a presidential team. We all have to defer to the will of the Egyptian people. If I become the next president, I will take a good look around me and choose the most suitable people to work with me. This is not just about winning votes.

Would you consider stepping aside to help Abul-Fotouh's candidacy?

The Muslim Brotherhood and the FJP looked at the candidates in the field and tried to promote others who had not yet stepped forward. The latter people declined for reasons of their own, and as a result we decided to field a candidate for the presidency. Now that this decision has been put into effect, it is up to the people to choose the best man for the job.

The Salafist Nour Party has come out in favour of another candidate, while the Islamic Law Organisation has declared its support for you. What is your reaction to these developments?

Every group has the right to choose in the light of what it deems to be in its best interest. But ultimately this is about the people's choice. The people are not divided on the basis of Islamist and non-Islamist, and the domination or monopoly of a single political force is not an option in the future.

Before the January Revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood's campaign slogan was "Islam is the solution". Yet, when you repeated this slogan following your nomination, you stirred outrage.

In the pre-revolutionary period, there was corruption, dictatorship and faked elections. At that time, "Islam is the solution" was merely a slogan, because there were no mechanisms to deliver on it. When I repeated it [following the revolution], my intention was to underscore the fact that now the slogan could be translated into reality. However, naturally it is not our campaign slogan.

Is the reason you have dropped the slogan the fact that you wanted to distance yourself from the image of being the Muslim Brotherhood candidate?

I am a son of the Muslim Brotherhood, and my intellectual and moral composition has been shaped by this group. Part of my creed is that the welfare of the nation comes above that of any party or group. I am presenting myself to the public on the basis of my personal qualities, my Muslim Brotherhood background, the fact that I am the Muslim Brotherhood/FJP candidate, and the need for us to work together to make Egypt a modern nation.

I did not drop the slogan to distance myself from the group. To me, the slogan has substance, and I have not distanced myself from that substance or that great call. The Brotherhood's Nahda (renaissance) Project is ready to be implemented, but I intend to keep an equal distance from all political trends. For the first time, the people themselves are drawing up a new constitution. What we are seeing now are the pains that attend a healthy birth. Hopefully, it will bring stability with it.

The "Nahda Project" was associated with the former Brotherhood candidate Khairat El-Shater. Do you have a project of your own?

The Nahda Project is the Muslim Brotherhood's project. We have been working on it for many years. It started as a seed we planted in the 1990s, and we have nurtured it through research and academic studies in the hope of furthering the cause of the nation in all fields.

Many people wonder why Mohamed Mursi, with his distinguished career, would accept being a "replacement" candidate.

It was a wise decision to have a back-up candidate, and the Muslim Brotherhood is a long-established organisation that operates on the basis of clear and precise institutional thinking. Accordingly, the Brotherhood and the FJP decided that it was necessary to have one or more back-up candidates in the event that obstacles emerged to impede the nomination of Khairat El-Shater.

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Fans and foes

WHILE many members of the Muslim Brotherhood support Mohamed Mursi's candidacy in the forthcoming presidential elections, including religious scholars and businessmen ready to laud his political acumen, intelligence, and political and parliamentary record, Ibrahim Hussein El-Sohagi, who works at the electricity authority in Dar Al-Salam, Sohag, has a unique experience of the Brotherhood candidate.

Al-Sohagi first met Mursi in the notorious Tora Prison for political detainees. "I had always hoped to meet someone like him, someone I could learn from and whose example I could follow," he says. "I was one of his greatest fans. I'd follow his speeches in the People's Assembly, and I admired the way he stood up for what's right, which is why he was elected best parliamentarian in that session."

"Then, my wish came true. One day, he was sent to Tora Prison along with a whole set of university professors and other professionals, all of whom were Muslim Brotherhood members."

Al-Sohagi was impressed by Mursi's erudition. While in prison, Mursi delivered many lectures on political science, explaining to the other inmates how countries are run, how institutions are created, the difference between democracy and the Islamic principles of shura (consultation), and how some countries are governed by stable institutions and others are not.

"He would speak at length on the experiences of other countries in creating constitutions and governments and how Islamic Sharia law should govern the affairs of the people," El-Sohagi added. According to this former prison colleague of Mohamed Mursi, he is strong in his faith and courageous in his defence of truth. "He feared no one but God, and he would say the truth even at the risk of his life."

However, not everyone shares El-Sohagi's high opinions of Mursi, some criticising him personally and others criticising the Muslim Brotherhood he represents.

Although the Nahda Programme that Mursi is now championing is better than the campaign platforms of other Islamist candidates like Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh and Mohamed Selim El-Awwa, according to vice president of the Salafi Calling Yasser Burhami, there is still the danger of a single group monopolising the reins of power should Mursi win the presidency.

Certain political "balancing acts" may also have lost Mursi the support of a portion of the Salafi voting bloc. While Mursi continues to adhere to the current formula of article two of the constitution, which states that the "principles of Islamic Sharia" form the major source of legislation, Abul-Fotouh has pledged to the Salafis that he would alter it to read "the provisions of Islamic Sharia," if elected president.

With respect to Mursi's personal qualifications, some observers fault him for his lack of sufficient political expertise, the influence El-Shater has had over him, and his lack of charisma. These deficiencies, when combined with the fact that he represents conservative hardliners in the Muslim Brotherhood, could hamper his chances of winning the presidency, some observers say.

A man of experience

Amirah Ibrahim profiles presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik, describing the controversy over his candidacy for the post

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Ahmed Shafik, Egypt's last prime minister before the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak, is a former commander of the Egyptian Air Force and was a long-time minister in Mubarak governments. He is a man known to be "tough", and he reportedly longed to be appointed prime minister at the end of Mubarak's rule in order to save the country from the deteriorating economic and social conditions.

Viewed as a member of the old guard, or as a remnant of the dissolved former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), the Islamist-controlled parliament has tried to ban him and Mubarak's vice president and chief General Intelligence officer Omar Suleiman from running in the presidential elections by amending the political rights law.

Suleiman was later disqualified by the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC). Although Shafik was also disqualified, he contested the decision and the PEC later readmitted him to the race on the basis of referring the law to the Constitutional Court.

Shafik, 70, has a distinguished military record. He was awarded the Medal of Honour as a fighter pilot in the 1973 war against Israel. On 14 October 1973, Shafik shot down two Israeli fighter planes over the Delta city of Mansoura in a battle in which Israel lost 17 fighter jets in 53 minutes. The day has been marked Egyptian Air Forces Day ever since.

Shafik spent 41 years in military service. He graduated in 1961 as a fighter pilot, and was promoted to higher ranks at a young age. "The fighter pilot takes a lifetime decision in a second. If he fails just once, he pays for it with his life," Shafik once said. In that way he differentiated himself from Mubarak, a bomber pilot who, Shafik added, has much more time to make a decision.

From 1991 to 1996, Shafik was Air Force chief of staff, later becoming Air Force commander for six years. The 11-year stretch made Shafik the commander to hold each post the longest. During that time he brought Chinese military know-how to manufacture training aircraft, the K-8, a project which developed rapidly.

For Shafik, the phases of his career which he is most proud of are when he was promoted as a fighter commander and when he became civil aviation minister.

"These are when I had challenged myself and death to be what I always wanted to be, and succeeded."

In 2002 he was entrusted with creating a revamped civil aviation sector. He stopped the government from financing aviation projects, including the state-owned national carrier and all 22 airports affiliated to the government. He insisted air transport must rely on self-finance.

The air business expanded under Shafik, modernising, as it was, all Egyptian airports, upgrading the capabilities of the national carrier and being invited to join the biggest airlines alliance in the world. He persuaded the World Bank to finance aviation projects in the Middle East after a 25-year halt, when it agreed to fund Shafik's ambitious plan to convert Cairo International Airport into a hub.

When Mubarak chose him as prime minister, days after the start of last year's revolution, Shafik knew it was the right move made at the wrong time. The challenge was daunting, made more so by the deadly Battle of the Camel in Tahrir Square on 2 February, in which riders on camels and horses ploughed into protesting crowds, and which came just one the day after Shafik took office.

After a month of protests by indignant demonstrators Shafik was forced to resign, but he remains absolutely convinced he deserved a fairer chance. Later in 2011 he announced he would run for the presidency but on condition he saw himself more capable than his rivals of solving the country's chronic problems.

This week, Shafik stood third on the list of the 13 candidates in a survey conducted by Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

When he picked his electoral symbol Shafik expressed his way of working; he chose the ladder.

"I always believed in myself, never chased what I cannot reach and am confident that I am highly capable and qualified to do the job."

"I am not after prestigious posts; I have had my fill. If the new constitution establishes a parliament state, then I cannot achieve my plans. I'll surely quit."

Platform:

As described by political analyst Muetaz Abdel-Fattah, professor of political science, Shafik is not a publicity seeker "but strives to hit targeted goals.

Shafik insists campaign platforms are for candidates who can fulfill their promises, not what the candidate promises.

"One candidate, I was informed, filled his platform with 400 pages. I bet 80 per cent of the platforms introduced by the 12 other candidates are similar. We all care about poverty, better education, a healthy generation, high income and safe communities. Solutions and proposed plans have been introduced by local and foreign experts. The question is who is capable of rebuilding the new republic? The answer should be he who has experienced similar crises and achieved success as a technocrat as well a politician."

Shafik's economic proposals focus on creating new commercial zones in the Delta, the Suez Canal and the Nubian part of Upper Egypt.

He introduced an ambitious development plan to convert Sinai and the Suez Canal banks into an independent commercial free zone. To the south is a similar mega project to develop Nasser Lake behind the High Dam into a tourist and industrial zone where long ignored Nubians can be compensated after decades of neglect.

Shafik showed no sympathy for activists' demands to reduce the military's presence in the electoral field. "They -- military men -- are very well prepared and qualified. To ban someone from his right to work, live and serve his people and community just because he served his country as a military man is against human rights. Punishment is only for mistakes, not for posts and occupations."

Security, one of the biggest problems following the revolution, will be set right in only one month by reforming the police establishment and affiliated entities, says Shafik. "I don't feel ashamed to ask the help of others when I face a problem which I cannot handle. Why not see what other nations did and how they solved their problems with this or that issue, then copy and paste the experience? I believe all we need is to give the job to the right person, be he an Egyptian, an Arab, Malaysian -- it does not matter. Only results matter."

Shafik strongly believes he is capable of putting Egypt on track within one year, but has an ambitious project to be implemented over a decade. "I am 70 and I do not agree by any means about running for a second term."

Support:

"He is the man of the times. Who else would be?" Explained a taxi driver: "He knows what a state is like. He is not going to make the people a test lab. On the other hand, I would not repeat the mistake I did at the parliamentary elections, voting for Islamists."

Those who do not trust newcomers in political life go for Shafik, while others call for fresh faces.

"Shafik and his colleagues should quit political life and clear the scene for new blood, be it Islamists, liberals or independents," explained Dina, 40, a doctor from Alexandria.

Ironically, Shafik's points of strength can also be seen as points of weakness. Having served the former regime for much of his life and maintaining relations with it, Shafik may have a good political record, but it is one gained under the former corrupt regime.

"If we accept the fact that the Egyptian people have carried out a great Revolution, then ghosts from the ousted regime should not come back to haunt us," said Doaa Soltan, a young journalist.

However, some believe that to protect the revolution and its gains, an experienced politician and technocrat like Shafik could be necessary. "He is capable of guiding the lost boat in the current storms. For the sake of troubled families and the coming generation we cannot afford to vote for in an inexperienced president," commented Fathi Khalil, 51, who has been in Libya for six years.

Khalil expressed his trust in Shafik because of his military background. "The military is the factory to build men. He is a war hero. He fought our main enemy, Israel, in a real war not in a war of words like the other candidates. He knows when to go to war to win and when to negotiate and chose peace," Khalil said.

"Down with military rule," said Ali, a teacher. "We have had enough of those in military uniform taking the lead for 60 years. All we got are underdevelopment, poverty, social injustice and decades of being prohibited the freedom of expression."

Despite his close relations with Mubarak, Shafik is one of the few top officials from the former regime not to be sent for trial. Although many individuals have filled complaints against him, Shafik's record has remained clean, though this does not convince Ali. "He is as corrupt as his master Mubarak. He should be in prison."

"He is 70, and we need a young president," said university student Sawsan. But her colleague Merna refused the idea. "He is not that old," she said. "Youth lacks experience, while old is gold," she said.

The candidate of 'moderate Islam'

Dena Rashed examines the electoral programme and ideas of presidential candidate Mohamed Selim El-Awwa

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In the historical palace of Salaheddin Al-Ayoubi, first sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the mediaeval Ayubbid dynasty, presidential candidate Mohamed Selim El-Awwa launched his presidential campaign last week.

Choosing such a unique location to launch a campaign was the decision of a candidate who has always been a staunch defender of the richness and moderation of Islam, El-Awwa's name always having been that of a moderate Islamist thinker. He is also a lawyer, international litigator, college professor and former general-secretary of the International Federation of Islamic Scholars.

El-Awwa is one of three Islamist candidates standing in the upcoming presidential elections, the others being Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Mohamed Mursi, head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.

Like the other Islamist candidates, El-Awwa calls for referring to the Islamic Sharia as the source of legislation in Egypt. Interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly by e-mail this week owing to his tight schedule, El-Awwa said that his project was one of "moderate Egyptian Islam" that would improve people's lives and safeguard Islamic principles. However, he also differs from the discourse of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis when he says that "Islam has always been for a civil state with a religious reference," and "Quran is the constitution of the people, but not that of the state."

Regarding the application of Islamic hodoud (punishments) in Egypt, El-Awwa said that hodoud are "boundaries" that protect society and they should be set up after the purposes and goals of Sharia have been realised and the society set on the correct foundations.

The father of five children, El-Awwa, 69, graduated in law from Alexandria University in 1963, and then obtained a degree in Islamic jurisprudence from the same university followed by a law diploma. He started his career in 1963 in the public prosecution office, but was arrested in 1965 in a clampdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, although he claims that he was not a member.

He then worked as a lawyer for the Council of Ministers in Kuwait, later earning a degree in the comparative study of Islamic and anglo-saxon legal systems from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London in 1972. He was a college professor teaching law and Islamic jurisprudence in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Sudan throughout the 1970s, and has held different positions in many organisations and groups.

El-Awwa was among a group representing the International Federation of Islamic Scholars that visited Darfour in Sudan in 2004 to try to solve the crisis there. He also took part in reconciliation efforts in Lebanon in 2006 and 2007. He was one of eight scholars to review Sudanese Islamic laws in 1986 to make them more compatible with the Islamic Sharia.

After his return to Egypt in 1985, El-Awwa began teaching constitutional law at Zagazig University and then at Ain Shams University in Cairo. With 27 books and hundreds of research papers to his name, his works have become references for many researchers on Islam.

Justice and equality are El-Awwa's keywords in his electoral programme for president. The interests of human beings should be at the top of any political agenda, he says, and no authority should be allowed to confiscate people's rights. He calls for the equality of all citizens against discrimination and stresses the separation of powers, the judicial supervision of the legislature, and judicial supervision of the police.

Regarding the rights to education and healthcare, El-Awwa stresses the right of the underprivileged to better education and access to medical services. If elected president, he would call for 15 per cent of the budget to be directed towards the health sector. He believes in a national plan for disease prevention and to raise public awareness. On education, El-Awwa says that two factors are of fundamental importance: freedom in universities, which will enhance the creativity and thinking of both the teachers and the students, and the relationship between schools, teachers and families.

"Egypt's significance" is what El-Awwa refers to when it comes to discussing the country's economic position and foreign relationships. Among his ideas is to install a progressive taxation system and a gradual decrease in energy subsidies for heavy industries consuming around 75 per cent of subsidised natural gas and 65 per cent of electricity. He believes that Egypt has to regain its status in the Arab, Muslim and wider world, saying that over the past 30 years many of its relationships with other countries have been neglected.

HOT TOPICS: Among El-Awwa's views are opinions on some of the hot political topics of the day:

The Shia: El-Awwa has opinions that are controversial for some hardliners like the Salafis, who have accused him of siding with the Shia, a matter that he has explained in many interviews. Our future as Sunnis necessarily involves the Shia, he says, even if they have beliefs and behaviour that we disagree with. However, he is against the foundation of political parties based on Shia principles.

The peace treaty and exporting natural gas to Israel: On Egypt's relationship with Israel, El-Awwa says that Islam honours treaties, making Egypt bound to preserve the Camp David Accords. "There should be negotiations to amend some articles of the treaty that go against Egypt's interests, like dividing the Sinai into three demilitarised areas, allowing Israelis into the Sinai without visas, and other privileges given to Israel that should stop immediately," he says.

Egypt's decision to stop exporting natural gas is the right decision, he says, based on annulling the contract between the General Authority for Petroleum and the Middle East Petroleum Company, which exports the gas. El-Awwa stresses that exporting the gas is based on an economic treaty and not associated with the peace treaty.

Egypt's Coptic community: Following the arrest of the son of a priest in a ship smuggling weapons from Israel in 2010, El-Awwa stated in an interview with Al-Jazeera that such acts could mean that some churches were storing up weapons to use against Muslims. Tensions at the time were high, as a result of the Camillia Shehata case, a Coptic woman thought to have converted to Islam. El-Awwa attacked Bishop Bishoi, a leading member of the Coptic Church, after the latter had said that Muslims were "guests of Christians" and "what happened inside the Church was the Church's business." El-Awwa argued that the Church, like other institutions in the state, should be supervised by the law, and shouldn't be allowed to become "a state within the state." El-Awwa has since announced that he doesn't oppose the right of any Copt to hold the presidency, or any other high-ranking position in the state, as long as he is the people's choice.

Women: Again contrary to the hardliners, El-Awwa has said that he respects the right of women to run for office and to hold high-ranking positions in the state. He told the Weekly that "women are subjected to great injustice. It is not just a matter of giving attention to women's causes: what I see is that women make up half of the society, and they have the same rights and obligations as men and should be treated from such a perspective. There is no difference between men and women: efficiency is what matters."

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces: El-Awwa has been criticised for his relationship with the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), some commentators arguing that he changed his position criticising the SCAF in the months following the revolution to one defending it after becoming a member of the advisory council appointed by the SCAF last November. El-Awwa defends his position by saying that, "when I agreed with their opinions, I stated it clearly, and when I disagreed with them concerning the need to set a date for transferring power to a civilian government and regarding former deputy prime minister Ali El-Selmi's charter of constitutional principles, I also said so clearly."

Art and culture: These topics have become major concerns for many liberals and intellectuals due to the rise of Islamism after the last parliamentary elections. El-Awwa has stated that if he becomes president, no book will be confiscated, and the freedom of artists and filmmakers will be guaranteed unless they break the law. He is personally a fan of old black-and-white movies, of actors Adel Imam and Ahmed Helmi, and singer Umm Kolthoum.

El-Awwa's support: El-Awwa says he has a good relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, even though the group officially supports Mohamed Mursi, its official candidate. Younger members of the group could give their votes to El-Awwa, though he faces a tough competitor in Abul-Fotouh. The Wasat Party, which El-Awwa supported when it broke away from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1995, has declared that 63 per cent of its members voted for Abul-Fotouh, while 23 per cent went to El-Awwa in support of a presidential candidate. The Salafi Daawa and Nour Party announced a week ago that their votes would support Abul-Fotouh.

While El-Awwa is a regular guest on many TV shows, Aisha Abu Zeid, one of his long-time supporters explained that, "he only has some posters, and no banners or billboards like others. Money will be a determining factor in the forthcoming elections, and El-Awwa does not have the financial backing that others have."

According to Abu Zeid, El-Awwa "has vision, and he has always advocated unity with other Arab countries, something that no other candidate has talked about. He has a great respect for all religions and doesn't fear expressing his opinions, even if he is attacked for it. He doesn't flirt with the media like other candidates. Due to his calls for calm in a time of political turmoil, he has been criticised as an advocate for the SCAF."

If El-Awwa wins in the presidential elections, he told the Weekly that his first act would be to pass a law "fighting hypocrisy and banning congratulatory advertisements by ministers and officials in praise of the president." He has a good chance of winning, he believes, as "this is what I feel on my tours and my meetings with the people."

In the footsteps of Nasser

Mohamed Abdel-Baky interviews presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi and gauges views for and against him

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Hamdeen Sabahi

Hamdeen Sabahi, a Nasserist and former member of the People's Assembly, believes that this is his moment, and the Egyptians want the coming president to be one of them, someone who could understand what living in "poverty and repression" means.

What makes your platform different from other candidates'?

I represent the 25 January Revolution which called for "bread, freedom and social justice", and have designed my platform to achieve these goals with the help of hundreds of political scientists and economists.

As an activist I suffered for decades under the repression of the Mubarak and Sadat regimes. I also suffered as a poor citizen. I understand how Egyptians feel. I know what they need and how to fulfill their needs.

Are claims that you will make the Egyptian economy one of the top 20 economies within eight years realistic?

I know that the Egyptian economy is at its worst. But Egypt has natural resources that we do not use, including solar and wind energy which could replace oil and gas as a source of energy.

Revenues from the Suez Canal could also be increased from $6 to $40 billion in four years if we focus on developing the Suez Canal area and providing comprehensive maritime services for ships in transit.

There is a lot we can do to improve the economy in a short time, though to do so requires political will.

But won't corruption hamper any attempts to boost the economy?

I have a package of measures designed to tackle corruption. They include new laws as well as paying public employees decent salaries, making them less likely to extort bribes. I will also empower the agencies that are supposed to monitor the performance government employees and punish anybody involved in corruption.

I believe that the president must be clean. He must be a role model for the rest of the nation.

What should the role of the military be after the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) hands over the power to the president?

It is the constitution that determines the role of the army. I would be in favour of retaining the provisions of the 1971 constitution regarding the Armed Forces. I believe that Egypt's army should be the strongest in the region, well equipped and well trained and confident. Its most important role is protecting Egypt's sovereignty.

Do you think the generals should be held accountable for their actions during the interim period?

SCAF has mismanaged the transitional period. Many Egyptians were killed in the last 18 months. Those responsible for the loss of life and limb must be brought to justice. I am for a fair rather than safe exit for the army.

How do you see the relationship between the president and a Muslim Brotherhood controlled parliament?

The Muslim Brotherhood, like any other political group, came to the parliament through fair elections, and they might win or lose the coming election. The new constitution should define the role and powers for both the president and the parliament and there will not be any problem as long as everybody sticks to the democratic process and the constitution.

I urge the Muslim Brotherhood to withdraw their candidate and announce their support to one of the candidates that came from Tahrir square, controlling the parliament, presidency and the government will not be in their favour, it is time for them to take the side of the revolutionary forces.

Why do you think you have a chance to win this election?

Giving the current situation, I believe that all the current candidates have equal chances, I think that Egyptians are capable to evaluate my chances against my competitors in these elections.

You have been outspoken on criticising the Camp David Accord and Egypt's relation with Israel, what do you think the coming president should do about this issue?

If I become president the abrogation of Camp David is not going to be my priority, for I must fight poverty and backwardness inside Egypt before looking into other matters.

I believe that Camp David accord has shackled Egypt and undermined its status. However, I will respect any peace treaty that Egypt signed in the past.

In the same time, the West must understand that the international law gives all the countries the right to amend or even cancel peace treaties to serve the best of their interest and I will not change the treaty or cancel it unless the people said so in a referendum and get the approval of the parliament. Egypt also has no obligation to export gas to Israel while the Palestinians are suffering from fuel shortage in Gaza.

Don't you think that would risk Egypt's relation with the United States?

I think that the US should respect the decision any Egyptian president might take to protect the interest of his own country. We will not be followers to anybody.

Nevertheless, Egypt's relation with Western governments and US administrations will differ according to our interests under an Egyptian foreign policy that will revive Egypt and raise its international status, we will not be the only one who does that, Turkey, Brazil and India have been doing that in the last decade.

What about the USAID to Egypt?

Any international aid to Egypt is welcome as long as it is not conditioned. I believe also that any decision related to such important matter will be taken after dialogue between me and the Egyptian people and after an the approval of the parliament, there is a democratic process that we should respect.

Candidate refurbished

Candidate Hamdeen Sabahi faces many challenges on his way to the presidency

Hamdeen Sabahi enters the coming presidential election with four decades of anti-regimes activism under his belt. Critics, however, note that he has limited governance experience.

Born in 1954 in the Delta governorate of Kafr Al-Sheikh, Sabahi studied mass communication at Cairo University and graduated with honour degree.

Sabahi started his activism when he was a university student. With a group of friends, he founded the Nasserist club. He enjoyed a wide popularity among his colleagues who elected him president of the university's Student Union.

His name came up in newspaper headline in 1977, when he openly expressed his disapproval of former president Anwar El-Sadat's policies during an aired meeting with Cairo university students.

At the time, he criticised Sadat's Infitah (Open-Door Policy), which he said only favoured the capitalists and those who were already well off. He also criticised Sadat's plans to make peace with Israel, while Palestinians remained without a home and devoid of representation.

"If the terms we have to accept in order for this land to be returned include recognising the Zionist entity," Sabahi argued, "this would be a mistake". Because of this confrontation, Sabahi was banned from working as an assistant teacher in Cairo University or a journalist in the state media.

In 1996, Sabahi founded the Arab Nasserist Karama Party, after his membership in Nasserist party due to internal conflict between the party leaders. He was elected twice to the People's Assembly in 2000 and 2005.

Sabahi was jailed several times over the course of his political career. One of these arrests was under Sadat in 1981 along with 1,500 politicians, intellectuals and activists in what was a major crackdown on opposition from across the political spectrum.

Sabahi was again arrested in 1997, under the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak, after being charged with inciting agricultural workers to protest against the government.

Sabahi's wife, Siham Negm, also a long-time Nasserist, currently serves as head of the Women and Society Association, an NGO, as well as secretary-general of the Arab Network for Literacy and Adult Education. Sabahi has two children: Salma, a television presenter and singer and Mohamed who works as filmmaker.

The veteran Nasserist officially announced his presidential bid in March 2011, choosing to run on an independent ticket and not through the Karama Party, which he established. He did not run in the past parliamentary elections, in order to focus on the presidential contest.

According the polls that were conducted over the last 18 months, Sabahi has never been in the top three candidates. His best time was in April in a poll run in by Al-Ahram Centre for Political Strategic Studies (ACPS), which Sabahi came in the fourth, while Amr Moussa took the first place, followed by Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh and Ahmed Shafik.

After the excluding of the 10 candidates from the race few weeks ago, Sabahi tried to seize the opportunity, by calling on all the "revolutionary candidates" to unite and form a presidential team. According to a senior member in Sabahi campaign, the negotiations failed after both Sabahi and Abul-Fotouh refused to take the vice president seat and give up the presidency.

Sabahi's record of spending more than 45 years of his life defending the democratic and human rights values and with non-involvement in corruption is mainly his credential, said Ammar Ali Hassan, a political expert.

"The best thing about Sabahi that he has never changed his political positions in the past 45 years, he is genuine revolutionary candidate that is needed for Egypt at this stage," Hassan said.

He added that he has never agreed to hold any deal with Mubarak regime unlike many other opposition figures in his generation.

"He has been living in the same apartment since he got married in the eighties, with the same furniture," Hassan said.

Sabahi mainly relies in his campaign platform on promises to implement a social welfare programs, starting by increase the minimum wage to LE1,200 per month, he plan to cover that increase by imposing a 10 % taxes on Egyptians how have than LE50 million.

Despite his promises to convert the economy from capitalism to state run economy (welfare economy), he has not been considered as candidate for the leftists party including the Tagammu and Socialist Popular Alliance Party, which choose to support other candidates like judge Hisham El-Bastawisi and Khaled Ali.

"Youth movement and leftists' parties have many questions about Sabahi's policies with Muslim Brotherhood and SCAF over the last 18 months," said Dina Samak, a leftist activist.

Some activists are critical of his hesitancy to criticise the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). He came under the fire of youth movements after he attended a meeting with the military council after the Friday of Cleansing 26 February 2011, when military police used force to evacuate Tahrir Square from hundreds of protesters.

To gain the youth groups' support back, Sabahi recently adopted a hard tone in talking about the SCAF. In March, he said that he refused a "safe exit" for the military council generals and insisted that they should be held accountable for the deaths of protesters during the waves of violence throughout last year.

"The fact that it has mismanaged the transitional period and that many were killed and wounded while it was in charge must be addressed. Those responsible for the loss of life and limb must be brought to justice, there is no something called safe exit for the SCAF in my dictionary."

In February, Sabahi joined a protest organised by Ultras football fans demanding justice for those killed in the 1 February Port Said football massacre chanting with them "down with military rule".

His party alliance with Muslim Brotherhood party, Freedom and Justice, in the last parliamentary election has also drawn criticism from the leftists and liberal forces.

While he played a major role in managing his party, he has never run a large corporation organisation or a governmental post, that make some experts have doubts about his leadership skill in running a huge country like Egypt.

Kamal Khalil, a labour activist, argues that Sabahi has long experience of the political system in Egypt and has been a parliament member for three times which enough to make him a good president.

"The president of the United States is a congressman, so could not have a president coming from the parliament," Khalil added.

Gamal Abdel-Gawad believes that Sabahi's electoral prospects may be at risk due to the presence of other three leftist presidential candidates.

"Leftist where Sabahi comes from are divided between three candidates, and many liberals may vote for the liberal Abul-Fotouh," he said.

He added that the race map is changing every day but most of the indicators show that Sabahi will not have a strong chance to win or even to enter the run off, comparing to Abul-Fotouh and Moussa.

Running on a platform based on the Nasserist ideology which belongs to the modern Egyptian regimes that is controlled by the military could be a challenge for Sabahi.

"Being a Nasserist is no longer a direct way to win the heart and mind of the people, I do not think Egyptians under 40 years old would elect him," said Samak.

She added that Sabahi's platform does not provide a clear vision for a better future; instead, it only answers some the questions that used to be asked in the past.

"I would uphold Nasser's principles on social justice while pushing for a completely democratic system that clearly defines and limits the role of the president, which Nasser did not do," Sabahi said.

Fundraising is one of challenges that Sabahi faces. He said that his campaign is among the poorest in the race. He added that he is depending on the donation of ordinary citizens.

Saving the poor

Khaled Ali, the youngest presidential candidate, translates in word and spirit the principles of the 25 January Revolution: bread, freedom and social justice. Yet, he is unlikely to win in the elections, writes Khaled Dawoud

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Khaled Ali, a human rights lawyer and labour activist, was nearly the last candidate to declare his intentions to join the first truly pluralist elections for the post of president in Egypt's history. On 27 February, one day after he turned 40, the minimum age required by law to run for the country's top post, Ali announced he was planning to run as an independent candidate on a mainly leftist platform clearly biased in favour of Egypt's mostly poor population made up of peasants and workers.

Having limited financial resources, Ali opted to seek the backing of 30 members of parliament for his presidential bid, instead of collecting 30,000 proxies from 15 Egyptian governorates, or becoming the official candidate of one of dozens of newly created or older political parties, as required by the presidential elections law.

Many of the MPs who supported Ali were equally young in age, and saw in him a representative of the entire generation of young Egyptians who sparked the 25 January Revolution in protest at poverty, unemployment and their exclusion from politics during the three decades of the rule of ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.

Years before the 25 January Revolution, Ali had been known as a human rights activist who could be easily spotted in almost all protests and demonstrations against Mubarak until his removal in February 2011. However, Ali did not only protest against Mubarak's heavy-handed police state that tolerated dissent as long as it stayed away from taking action in the street. He was also clearly biased in favour of Egypt's poorer workers and peasants, a class to which he himself belongs.

Born in 1972 in the small village of Meet Yaeesh in Daqahliya governorate, Ali does not shy away from the fact that he belonged to a poor family made up of eight children and an ordinary father and mother who worked hard to make ends meet. In fact, he is proud to refer to his background and the fact that his father, who worked as a coast guard, managed to provide a university education for six out of his eight children.

Starting in high school, he worked in summer jobs to provide an income to help his family. He lifted heavy sacks of rice in a nearby factory as a daily wage labourer, worked at a small biscuits factory, and as a server at a local coffee shop.

After he graduated from the Law Faculty at Zagazig University in 1994, Ali moved to Cairo and soon joined the emerging human rights movement mainly made up of former leftists who had lost their faith in communist ideology after the fall of the former Soviet Union. He was among the many young lawyers who joined the Hisham Mubarak Centre for Human Rights in 1999, working in particular on labour union issues and workers' rights.

All trade unions in Egypt at the time were under the tight control of the state security, or political police attached to the Interior Ministry, as they had been since the 1952 Revolution led by the late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser.

Ali fought hard to assert the right of Egypt's workers to form their own independent unions, and he won several rulings confirming that government-sponsored union elections had been rigged in 2001 and 2006. Equally importantly, Ali launched another initiative to confirm the right of Egyptians to protest peacefully, also while working at the Hisham Mubarak Centre.

On 6 April 2008, when the city of Mahalla in the Delta witnessed extensive strikes to demand better wages and working conditions, Ali was at the forefront of activists who joined the protests. These led to the launch of the now well-known 6 April Movement that later played a key role in the 25 January Revolution against Mubarak. Dozens of protesters were arrested, and Ali, together with other lawyers, formed the National Front to Defend Egypt's Demonstrators.

In 2009, he formed his own non-governmental organisation, the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights, and continued to fight in the courts on behalf of Egypt's workers and peasants. He won several key rulings that put on hold a number of deals to sell public-sector factories and companies to the private sector, after proving that corrupt practices and irregularities had been involved.

However, his most prominent achievement was in winning a historic ruling from the Administrative Court only a few months before the uprising against Mubarak to the effect that the government would be obliged to set a minimum wage for millions of workers equal to LE1,200 or $200. At least 40 per cent of Egyptians are believed to be living under the poverty line, or on a minimum of $2 per day, according to United Nations figures. The Mubarak government ignored the ruling, as it usually did with sentences that went against its interests, and even though the first parliament after the 25 January Revolution passed a law that required setting a minimum and maximum wage for civil servants, the exact figures have not yet been determined.

ALTHOUGH ALI insists that he is running as a candidate "for all Egyptians" and that he is not only representing Egypt's left, nearly all analysts have put him into that box. There are at least three other candidates seen as close to the left: Abul-Ezz El-Hariri, running on behalf of the Popular Socialist Alliance Party; former judge Hisham El-Bastawisi on behalf of the Tagammu Party; and independent Nasserist candidate, Hamdeen Sabahi. "All these candidates are respectable people who are part of the leftist movement in Egypt, and that's why I can't claim to be the candidate of the left," Ali said.

While he recognises that all 12 other candidates have also said in their programmes that they will work to achieve "social justice", Ali says that he is the only one who has truly fought on behalf of that cause over the past 20 years, many times facing arrest and harassment by Mubarak's security agencies for doing so.

"For me, social justice is not just a slogan. My platform is directed at Egypt's poor and middle class who make up my main constituency of possible voters. Even if I do not succeed in the elections, I hope I will raise awareness of the priority of achieving social justice in Egypt," he added.

Running with the electoral slogan of "we will achieve our dream," Ali has concentrated his election platform on improving the living conditions of Egypt's majority of poor people. He has promised to continue his battle for setting a minimum wage in Egypt, saying that the maximum wage in government bodies should not be more than 15 times that much.

Clearly reflecting his socialist ideology, Ali is nearly the only candidate who has mentioned the possibility of "nationalising" private companies if this serves public interests. He has also called for setting limits on ownership by foreigners of property in Egypt, empowering workers and peasants by allowing them to own shares in the companies they work in, imposing progressive taxes on high-income people, increasing local agricultural production to achieve self-sufficiency, establishing free health and education services and redistributing wealth to serve the country's poor and families on limited incomes.

Ali is also a strong supporter of women's rights and of the rights of minorities. He was the only candidate to announce that, if elected, he would appoint three deputies: a Coptic Christian, a woman and a third representing Egypt's young people aged between 15 and 40, who make up more than 60 per cent of its population.

On foreign policy, Ali has been a staunch opponent of Israel's occupation of Palestine, and he has taken part in nearly all popular protests calling for an end to that occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. He was also among the scores of lawyers who fought in the courts under Mubarak to stop the exports of natural gas to Israel, and he is likely to seek a review of the Peace Agreement signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979 if he is elected as president.

Ali is also critical of Saudi Arabia and the oil-rich Gulf states, which he charges with standing against Egypt's 25 January Revolution for fear that the wave of protests would quickly move to their own countries. "Saudi Arabia has no interest in seeing the revolution in Egypt succeed. That's why it has not offered us any help since Mubarak's removal," Ali said.

"KHALED ALI says all the right things, but he has no chance of winning," comments Hassan Nafaa, a political science professor at Cairo University and a key figure in the 25 January Revolution against Mubarak. "He is sincere, a hard worker, full of energy, and he truly believes in social justice. Yet, his main problem is that he has no constituency beyond a small circle of human rights activists and some independent small labour unions."

As a result of a dominant culture that prefers experience over talent and energy, Ali is unlikely to gain the confidence of many Egyptian voters, young and old alike. "Many people would tend to believe that he needs more time to become ready for the post of president," Nafaa said.

Ali's critics also point out that despite his activism and presence among the youth movements that sparked the 25 January Revolution, he was unable to unite them around himself as their candidate. "The youth movements are deeply divided, and they have failed to unite in one party that supports the principles of the 25 January Revolution," Nafaa said. Other liberal analysts also criticise Ali's largely socialist economic programme, which they see as outdated and hindering of efforts to attract investment to Egypt.

However, the most serious criticism that faces the youngest presidential candidate is that he does not sound serious enough in his desire to fight for the presidency. When some figures known for their support of the 25 January Revolution proposed that there should be only one candidate representing their ideas, Ali was the first to announce his backing of the initiative and that he was ready to pull out of the race.

"I said this because I am a man of principles. But I was misunderstood. Right now, there is no more talk of pulling out, and the results I will achieve will be a surprise for everyone," Ali said in an interview.

'A potential winner'

Dina Ezzat reviews the programmes of presidential candidates Amr Moussa and Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh and their place in public opinion

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Amr Moussa, a diplomat who tries very hard to win over all sides, a former foreign minister who enjoyed unprecedented admiration, a former Arab League secretary-general who predicted that the Jasmine Revolution was only the first step towards the inevitable Arab Spring, and a politician who knows how to manoeuvre, rally and win. With a 41 per cent approval rating, Amr Moussa topped the list of 13 candidates in this week's poll conducted by Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. He enjoys a level of name recognition among the public that few, if any, of his opponents can match.

Throughout the best part of his years in public service Moussa commanded the allegiance of public opinion. He was for many years, and is still for some, seen as the charismatic politician, someone who dared to differ with his boss, president Mubarak, on matters of national security, especially relations with Israel and the US. The distance Moussa managed to publicly maintain from Mubarak and his immediate circle won him sympathy during his decade-long tenure as Egypt's foreign minister and when he was nominated for the Arab League secretary-general's job commentators lamented his departure as a loss for Egyptian diplomacy. Arab commentators then welcomed him as a man whose political positions, especially on the Arab-Israeli struggle, offered a cause for dignity.

But the thankless task of heading the Arab League, to which he was moved, many believe, because he represented a threat to plans for Gamal Mubarak to succeed his father, eroded Moussa's popularity. Inevitably, he became associated with the failures of the collective Arab regime over which he presided.

Moussa's attempts to avoid the escalation of a campaign to discredit potential alternatives to Gamal Mubarak, say his aides, further complicates his position. Statements that they say were made as a matter of courtesy to the Egyptian president are now taken against him by revolutionary forces who see them as evidence of his deep links with the ousted regime, while his criticisms of the regime's foreign and domestic policies are all but ignored.

Despite a careful show of sympathy with the 25 January Revolution, Moussa did not actually join the masses in calling for an end to the rule of Mubarak. He played the diplomat seeking to support the revolution indirectly. Revolutionary forces never appreciated this choice.

Today he faces a tough fight convincing his critics that his years at the helm of the Foreign Ministry were spent in serving the public rather than a regime comprised of Mubarak cronies.

As a presidential candidate, Moussa is again living up to the challenge, explaining himself, arguing his case and reaching out to those who are with him and those against him with no hesitation despite the inevitable frustrations at times.

For his electoral symbol Moussa chose the sun. It brings light and warmth. It goes to people; it does not wait for people to come to it.

It may be an uphill struggle, but it is one Moussa's most implacable opponents believe he might win.

PLATFORM -- 'THE SECOND REPUBLIC': Not just a total overhaul of the system that has practically wrecked the country but a process of rejuvenation for Egypt -- this is what Moussa proposes in his platform.

Moussa launched his platform, which he says will reverse Egypt's political and economic decline, from the heart of Ezbet Al-Haggana, one of Cairo's shantytowns.

He has stressed that his platform's goals can be attained only through dedicated teamwork, orchestrated by a president planning to run for a single term. "I am calling on all citizens to join hands and work together with me to help put Egypt on the right road," said Moussa.

The programme aims at ensuring that by the end of four years Egypt is on track to eradicate poverty and illiteracy among a projected population of 150 million by 2050.

"Egypt deserves to be the strongest and leading nation not just in the Arab world but in the Middle East and the Red Sea and Mediterranean basin," says Moussa.

His priorities include improving education and healthcare and boosting scientific research. His economic policies will attempt to boost activity across sectors.

For the first 100 days Moussa is particularly committed to reintroducing the much compromised security, to re-enforce the law upon all citizens alike and to end the victimisation of the marginalised segments of society and isolation of poorer neighbourhoods, governorates and border cities.

Moussa's platform also promotes equality among Egypt's citizens, placing them on an equal footing before the law, "with no discrimination, none whatsoever". A key note to his campaigning is that life must improve for every citizen, man and woman, Muslim and Copt.

SUPPORT: "We know what Moussa is capable of and we know he could do the job. And it is not just us. As a former foreign minister and secretary-general of the Arab League he is known internationally which could make his job as a president easier," says Nadia, a Copt from Tanta. "Nor is he sectarian; he does not hate us [Copts]."

"Given that the majority in this country is Muslim the president has to be Muslim, this I accept. But I cannot accept an Islamist as president," argued the middle-aged housewife. She added that she wants her grandchildren to grow up in a society where being a Copt is not something that works against you.

Other supporters say they will vote for Moussa because he is a statesman capable of handling the many challenges facing Egypt both at home and abroad.

"The situation facing Egypt is far too complicated to have a pair of new hands in the top seat," says Hadi, a dermatologist in his late 20s. "This is an emergency situation that requires experience. There is no room for trial and error when you have a declining economy, retreating levels of security, deteriorating public services and the erosion of social cohesion, not just between Muslims and Copts but between the poor and the rich."

Moussa's opponents argue that experience does not count for everything, and certainly not when it has gained in the corrupting milieu of the Mubarak regime. What Egypt needs now, they say, is not someone who is going to tweak the system but who will dispense with existing formulas and start afresh.

"Moussa was never a part of the revolution and should not be allowed to take advantage of it now. Only those who were there when people risked their lives should be allowed to run for president," says Nabil, a translator in his late 40s. "I admit I was dismayed when Mubarak removed him from the Foreign Ministry to clear the way for Gamal but that was over 10 years ago. It was before the revolution."

Nabil, who says he was in Tahrir Square for every one of the 18 days of the revolution, now sees the world through the strict lens of those who were in Tahrir and those who were not.

The fact that Moussa served for 10 years under Mubarak as foreign minister is something many of Moussa's opponents say militates against his election.

"I cannot reconcile myself with anyone from the old regime. It makes no difference whether or not he was removed by Mubarak to pave the way for his son. In the end Moussa served as part of the regime that the revolution came to remove," says Mona, an architect in her early 50s. Although she was not part of the revolution Mona believes it would be "unfair" for the next president to come from the old regime.

"I know people say he has experience and that he disagreed with Mubarak but I think that it is time for a fresh start. Moussa is not a fresh start."

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Racing favourite

Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh started off a few months ago with an approval rating in several polls of no more than four per cent. Today, he has some 27 per cent.

Presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh is a medical doctor who graduated with honours, but who was denied an academic post owing to his political views. He was also a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest Islamist organisation in the Arab world, until he was expelled from the group over his decision to run for president.

Abul-Fotouh is the presidential candidate of Islamist background who appeals most to intellectuals and ordinary people from all walks of life and all political backgrounds. According to the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies this week, Abul-Fotouh was the second-most popular of all 13 presidential candidates, his approval ratings being consistently in the high 20s in opinion polls.

Now aged 60, Abul-Fotouh made his career in hospital administration, a profession that went hand-in-hand with what is closest to the heart of this white-haired and serious-looking man: humanitarian work and political activism.

Abul-Fotouh was born into a middle-class Cairo family on 15 October 1951. While still a university student, he developed a taste for what was then an increasingly influential political Islamic trend, and he joined the Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, an Islamist group that did not necessarily eschew violence in promoting its views.

From the Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya Abul-Fotouh later moved to the Muslim Brotherhood, where he stayed for many years helping to improve the group's organisation through its Guidance Bureau, which is responsible for the Brotherhood's policy orientation. At the same time as he was working to strengthen the Brotherhood, Abul-Fotouh was engaging in humanitarian-relief work across the Muslim world. He also worked in Egypt's unions, perhaps a natural development for a man who had been very much involved in student unions during their heyday in Egyptian universities in the 1970s.

As secretary-general of the Arab Doctors Union and head of several Muslim relief agencies, Abul-Fotouh pursued such humanitarian and union work. As a prominent Islamist, he also made a name for himself as a leading opponent of the ruling regime, being associated with criticisms of the late president Anwar El-Sadat when Abul-Fotouh was still a student.

Despite several years spent in prison under the rule of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, Abul-Fotouh remained determined to oppose the regime. From the first day of last year's 25 January Revolution, Abul-Fotouh, unlike other leading figures of the Muslim Brotherhood and most of the current presidential candidates, joined the crowds calling for an end to the Mubarak regime.

Now himself a candidate in the presidential elections, Abul-Fotouh has managed to position himself as the favourite choice of many intellectuals, including those from liberal circles, as well as of many members of the traditional middle class and the youth of the Muslim Brotherhood itself, all without compromising his Islamist views. Such popularity has caused almost unprecedented tensions within the otherwise tightly controlled Brotherhood.

Abul-Fotouh has chosen a horse as his electoral symbol, a choice which, his supporters say, is an indication of their candidate's ability to "gallop ahead" in the presidential race. A PLATFORM -- 'STRONG EGYPT': In his electoral platform, Abul-Fotouh has consistently argued for policies that, he says, will make Egypt into a strong country. "I pledge to make Egypt one of the 20 strongest economies in the world within 10 years," he says, one of the key statements made by Abul-Fotouh at a meeting in Al-Azhar Park in Cairo to the delight of his supporters.

Abul-Fotouh's proposals include a set of large-scale projects that should help give a push to the economy, industry and agriculture. However, boosting the economy is only one element of the comprehensive plans Abul-Fotouh has put forward.

Other elements in his programme include putting an end to the unmistakable decline in Egypt's security, education and health services. If elected president, he has promised to upgrade budget allocations for education to 25 per cent and health to 15 per cent, compared to their less than seven per cent and less than three per cent today.

Combating poverty and illiteracy are also high priorities for Abul-Fotouh. "I pledge to end the illiteracy of all those under the age of 40 within one presidential term," he says. If elected, his vice president will be under the age of 45, presumably in a bid to attract younger voters, and 50 per cent of top jobs would go to members of the younger generation to help rejuvenate the system.

Putting the police in their place and taking the military out of politics are also key elements in Abul-Fotouh's programme. In line with his Islamist principles, he has also underlined his commitment to refer all new laws to the Islamic Sharia, in order to ensure that they conform to it.

SUPPORT: Both those who support and those who oppose Abul-Fotouh know that he is a candidate who should be taken seriously. "This man is a good man. I don't care if he comes from the Muslim Brotherhood. What I care about is what he has to offer for the future," said Darine, a postgraduate student at Ain Shams University in Cairo.

Darine, who says that she took part in the 25 January Revolution from the first day onwards, would rather see Mohamed El-Baradei, former director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who returned to Egypt in 2010 with a clear call for political change, as president.

However, after El-Baradei's decision to quit the presidential race, Darine made up her mind to support Abul-Fotouh instead. "He is not less than El-Baradei anyway," she comments. "In some ways, he is better."

For this 23-year-old woman, Abul-Fotouh's "long years of opposition to Mubarak" put him in a higher place than El-Baradei. "He was always a critic of the former regime, when this kind of criticism came at a high price. He was jailed and subjected to many forms of persecution, but he never gave up. It is quite impressive," Darine said.

His long history of political activism is only one reason that Abul-Fotouh supporters mention when they talk about him. Other reasons offered for their support include his "ability to work with people from different political backgrounds" and his "moderate Islamist views".

"I was hesitant about whom to vote for, because I honestly did not want to vote for an Islamist. However, I must say that when I heard Abul-Fotouh speaking I thought he was a very reasonable man," said Lamia, a banker in her late 30s.

For Lamia, it is certainly comforting that Abul-Fotouh is not too engrossed in "matters related to appearance, such as the Islamic head veil" that some Muslim clerics describe as being mandatory for Muslim women.

"I don't want a president who will make women wear the veil. I want a president who worries more about acute problems, such as security, poverty, traffic, education and so on," she said.

However, to those who oppose or fear Abul-Fotouh, the candidate's moderate Islamist views are not what they seem. "He is pretending to be moderate, but actually he was responsible for making the Muslim Brotherhood what it is today. He has the views and values of this radical Islamist organisation, and he has never said that he has changed his mind about it," said Seif, an interior designer in his early 40s.

Seif is one of those who perceive Abul-Fotouh as being the "hidden candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood" in the presidential elections, and he goes so far as to suggest that the Brotherhood's nomination of its vice supreme guide Khairat El-Shater for president and the subsequent nomination of the head of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Brotherhood, Mohamed Mursi, was only "an act to help deceive".

Seif argues that the ascent of an Islamist to power in Egypt would be a recipe for disaster. "Having an Islamist as president, in addition to an Islamist parliament and future Islamist government, would mean that one political line controlled the country. This is called political monopoly," he said.

For Hoda, a housewife, it does not matter very much what Abul-Fotouh's past with the Brotherhood means. For her, what matters is that he is an Islamist "and that means that if he were elected our society would be changed forever."

"He might be a good man in himself who has some good ideas, but the fact of the matter is that he is an Islamist," and therefore he would change the country in what for her are unwanted ways. Speaking after many of the Salafi factions announced their support for Abul-Fotouh, Hoda said that a man who came into office thanks to the votes of the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood would make sure that he favours them in order to get re-elected.

The only way in which he could do this would be to undermine some of the civil elements of Egyptian state and society and "forcibly Islamise" them, she said.