The Jama'a al-Islamiya Shura Council and its political wing's parliamentary bloc have decided to support moderate Islamist hopeful Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh for president, in a further setback to the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy.
In an internal vote Monday, Abouel Fotouh received 63.34 percent of votes compared to Morsy, who received 36.66 percent, state-run news agency MENA reported.
The Salafi Dawah, another influential hardline Islamist movement, and the Nour Party — its political wing — announced Saturday they would back also Abouel Fotouh, hurting the Brotherhood's chances of winning next month's presidential elections.
Known as a reformer within the Brotherhood, Abouel Fotouh broke ties with the group last year when he decided to run for president, going against the group's initial decision not to try for the presidency.
But in a U-turn in policy last month, the Brotherhood decided to field a candidate in the race. Morsy is seen as part of a more conservative wing in the Brotherhood and as lacking charisma.
Other front-runners in the race, scheduled for 23 and 24 May, include former Arab League chief Amr Moussa and Ahmed Shafiq, Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.
The Jama'a al-Islamiya Shura Council decided not to announce the decision at the official level until all efforts by Islamists to agree on one presidential candidate have been exhausted.
Following the removal of Mubarak, an ardent opponent of Islamists, Jama'a al-Islamiya emerged as a political force and formed the Construction and Development Party.
The group is notoriously known as the catalyst behind most of the terrorist attacks in Egypt in the 1990s.
Sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that arguments erupted at the group's General Assembly meeting after leaders from the Shura Council attempted to tell members to choose Morsy.
But most members of the General Assembly, the party’s parliamentary bloc and secretaries announced their support for Abouel Fotouh, refusing to allow the Brotherhood to dominate all state institutions.
