There are conflicting reports about the statement given by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of Gamal Mubarak running for the presidency and whether he is qualified for the post.
“I think he is a potential candidate,” Nazif replied at the Middle East Investment Summit on 27 October. The summit was organized by Reuters.
The news organization also quoted Nazif as saying “Why not?” in addition “I think he is a potential candidate.” The Reuters story was posted at 5:45 PM on 27 October.
However cabinet spokesman Magdy Rady amended the statement quoted by Reuters and added another response from Nazif, saying that Gamal Mubarak “enjoys high political qualifications.” This statement was used in a report by the government-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) at 10:30 PM at the same day.
Sources at Reuters said that the agency has strict editing standards and carefully verifies quotes to avoid obscurity. Reuters also said that the agency publishes notifications when any news item requires correction or amendment.
“As long as no amendments have been made to the minister’s statements, that means that those were the actual words he used,” the sources at Reuters said.
In the past there have been repeated incidents of an official giving a statement to the foreign press that is then amended for delivery to local media.
Al-Ahram and Gomhuriya newspapers did not mention Nazif’s participation in the summit, while el-Akhbar quoted the MENA report.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
