Residents in several Egyptian governorates took to the streets on Friday to demand that former regime figures be disqualified from the presidential race.
Thousands staged demonstrations at Qaed Ibrahim mosque in Alexandria, and marched to the northern district military headquarters to reject reproducing the collapsed regime, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported.
The protesters chanted, “We are the people — the red line,” and, “Whoever will betrays the revolution will lose.” They also held photos of Omar Suleiman and Ahmed Shafiq with the words “No to the return of Mubarak regime figures” written on them.
In Qalyubia Governorate, several cities witnessed protests organized by Islamist factions demanding that former regime figures be banned from the presidency and other high offices. Other protesters demanded that Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration, which states that the Presidential Elections Commission’s decisions cannot be challenged, be abolished.
In Suez, dozens organized a demonstration in Arba'een square after Friday prayers in solidarity with the Tahrir protesters. They asked that the youth of the 25 January revolution return to the streets.
In Ismailia, dozens of Freedom and Justice Party and Salafi Nour Party members chanted slogans against Suleiman, Shafiq and former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.
In Arish, North Sinai, hundreds of supporters of Hazem Salah Abu Ismail protested under the slogan “The square is stronger than Parliament,” demanding that the law banning Mubarak regime figures from the presidential race be approved.
In Qena, Omar Suleiman’s birthplace, hundreds of protesters rejected Suleiman’s presidential candidacy, chanting, “No Shafiq, No Suleiman, this was in the old days.”
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
