Thursday’s papers reveal how the tone of the forthcoming presidential race has sharpened, with candidates throwing their hats into the ring for the first post-Hosni Mubarak election, slated to take place on 23 and 24 May.
Freedom and Justice newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party of the same name, leads with a story that Khairat al-Shater, the Brotherhood’s candidate for Egypt’s top office, will submit his application Thursday to officially enter the race.
In his first public statement since announcing his nomination, Shater denied that the Brotherhood cut a backroom deal with the ruling military council to support him in the presidential poll, according to the report.
Independent newspaper Youm7 reports that presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail is fighting to be eligible to participate in the race. The paper says that Abu Ismail has filed a lawsuit in administrative court against the Interior Ministry, accusing it of trying to delay his application past the deadline.
The ultraconservative Salafi candidate’s presidential bid has become imperiled by recent reports that his mother is an American citizen, which would disqualify him from running.
Privately owned Al-Shorouk reports that Islamist attorney Mohamed Selim al-Awa has filed his candidacy application, officially becoming the 10th candidate on the electoral roll.
On Freedom and Justice’s front page, the paper quotes Tarek al-Desouky, head of the People’s Assembly’s Economic Affairs Committee and a Nour Party member, as saying, “The Nour Party’s final decision on the endorsement of a presidential candidate will be announced next Saturday during a meeting of the party’s supreme authority.”
Al-Ahram, the flagship state-run paper, reports that the Brotherhood came away empty-handed from a meeting with delegates who have withdrawn from the constituent assembly. The paper says those who have withdrawn insist on dissolving the body and re-electing its members so that they represent all segments of society.
Gamal Fahmy, vice chairman of the Journalists Syndicate, told Al-Ahram that the syndicate would announce its withdrawal from the assembly today, following in the footsteps of Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Supreme Constitutional Court in protest of Islamists’ domination of the body.
However, Sobhy Saleh, an FJP member of the assembly, ruled out the possibility of Islamists restructuring the whole body after its members failed to reach common ground on resolving the dispute, the paper adds.
Reporting on the same news, Youm7 says a number of political forces have called for a million-strong nationwide protest this Friday for a new composition of the 100-member assembly.
A countrywide ultras march also makes headlines in Thursday’s newspapers.
Privately owned Al-Tahrir writes that the Ultras Ahlawy, devoted fans of Egypt’s leading football club Ahly, organized massive marches across the country, demanding retribution for martyrs who lost their lives after a match in Port Said on 1 February. More than 70 people were killed in the violence and hundreds injured.
Ultras blocked off 6th of October Bridge, chanting anti-military slogans and holding up pictures of martyrs, the report says.
On its seventh page, independent Al-Dostour writes that Mohamed Abou Hamed, an MP and former leading member of the Free Egyptians Party, has launched new party, called the Lives of the Egyptians Party.
In a press conference, Abou Hamed explained why he has formed the party. “Civil, liberal parties on the scene have failed to present political programs that address Egyptian citizens’ crucial issues.”
The party, which is still under construction, would comprise 75 percent of its members from the younger generation.
“I will apply for an official license within the next three months after appointing 5,000 members,” Abou Hamed said.
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Youm7: Daily, privately owned
Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned
Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party
Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party
