Presidential hopeful Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh has said that he hopes one of the presidential candidates who supported the revolution will win the election, and not a former regime official.
Abouel Fotouh said in an exclusive interview with Al-Arabiya news channel, excerpts of which aired on Friday and which will be fully broadcasted on Saturday, that he considers former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa a part of former President Mubarak’s regime, and he disapproves of Moussa’s presidential candidacy.
In response to media reports speculating that the Muslim Brotherhood might possibly assassinate him, Abouel Fotouh said, “This aims to insult an Egyptian national movement, and is an insult to all movements, not only the Muslim Brotherhood.”
“Any force that would attempt an assassination does not love Egypt, and this is not the Muslim Brotherhood,” he added.
He denied appointing private guards, pointing out that he cannot afford personal guards. He said that his campaign sent a letter to the military council and the Interior Ministry saying it was their responsibility to protect his life, and stressing that the state is responsible for the protection of all citizens in Egypt, not only presidential hopefuls.
Abouel Fotouh was the victim of an armed robbery last February when he was on his way home from an election rally in Monufiya Governorate. He sustained minor injuries. The police arrested the assailants but the incident stoked fears about assassination attempts.
Abouel Fotouh was expelled from the Muslim Brotherhood last year when he decided to run for president, defying the group’s decision not to field a presidential candidate. The Brotherhood later went back on this decision, and has nominated Freedom and Justice Party head Mohamed Morsy for president.
