Safwat Barakat, a supporter of Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a Salafi preacher who was excluded from the presidential election, said the former candidate will announce his support for Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh on Saturday.
He also said Abu Ismail made the decision after meeting with his advisers and others who he declined to name.
The Presidential Elections Commission dropped Abu Ismail from the presidential race when official documents revealed that his mother was registered to vote in the United States.
The elections law stipulates that presidential candidates must be Egyptians born to Egyptian parents who do not carry foreign citizenship.
“Abu Ismail is only attempting to heal the rift among Islamists and unite them,” Barakat said. “He puts the interest of the nation above his own.”
There are two other Islamists running in the election, Mohamed Morsy, the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, and Mohamed Selim al-Awa, an Islamist thinker.
Ayman Elias, a supporter of Abu Ismail, said Abu Ismail believes Abouel Fotouh is most closely aligned with the Islamic project, while Mohamed al-Halabawy, Abu Ismail’s electronic campaign manager, said that his supporters are not obligated to follow his decision.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
