The Muslim Brotherhood would need to reconsider its policies and stances before it assuming the presidential post, disqualified presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail said Sunday.
The Salafi preacher described the group’s parliamentary agenda as “disappointing,” saying the group was reluctant to discuss crucial problems.
He told the privately owned satellite channel Al-Hayat 2 that he will not run for president after four years, saying he was forced to run this time for the post.
Abu Ismail was excluded from the race on the grounds that US government documents showed his mother held American citizenship. According to a law passed after the 25 January uprising, an Egyptian cannot run for president if either of his or her parents have been citizens of another country at any point in their lives.
But Abu Ismail rejected the ruling as a conspiracy engineered by the Presidential Elections Commission and Egypt’s military rulers.
Abu Ismail also denied any responsibility for the clashes that broke out in late April near the Defense Ministry in the Cairo neighborhood of Abbasseya. The clashes left 12 dead and hundreds injured.
He instead blamed Egypt’s de facto leader, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and Sami Anan, the armed forces’ chief of staff.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
