Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Mohamed ElBaradei told the German press agency (DPA) on Monday that he would not run in Egyptian presidential elections slated for next year.
"Such a move would be meaningless under current circumstances," he said. “It's obvious that the next president will hail from the ruling National Democratic Party.”
“I never wanted to run anyway,” he added. “I only want Egypt to achieve true democracy.”
ElBaradei went on to support calls for a boycott of next year's elections–a move, he said, that "would serve to erode the regime's legitimacy."
On the Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, currently on the receiving end of a pre-election crackdown by the government, ElBaradei said: “They're not as bad as some think.” He added that the Brotherhood had managed to gain considerable grassroots support by providing the poor with food and medicine.
On his opinion of US President Barack Obama, ElBaradei said that, while the US president had initially provided hope for a degree of mutual respect between the Muslim world and the West, “unfortunately, he now appears preoccupied with a number of domestic issues.”
And on whether democracy can be imposed by external forces, the ex-IAEA chief stressed, “This is impossible–it must come from within.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
