Zamalek Sports Club chief Mortada Mansour backtracked on Saturday on his bid for Egypt’s presidency, announcing stepping out of the race slated for 26 and 27 May after seeing a "vision in his sleep."
“I dreamt I was on board a bus to Fum al-Khaleeg (a district of Cairo),” Mansour said in a press conference on Saturday. “I found two army generals sitting next to me… ‘we are going to Old Cairo, not Heliopolis,’ they told me. I felt the pair represented Field Marshal al-Sisi,” he said, referring to the former defense minister who many analysts say enjoys the best chances of winning in the upcoming presidentialrace.
Mansour did not explain how the vision was a sign that he had to step down, but said he would support the former defense minister.
"This is no time for games," Mansour said.
“I say to Field Marshal al-Sisi I personally support you, but some people in your campaign are not qualified,” Mansour said.
He also accused Sisi’s most notable contender, Hamdeen Sabbahi, of affiliation with the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak. “I won’t vote for someone claiming to be the revolution’s candidate who would put an end to the NDP leftovers while at the same time receives LE4 million from NDP businessmen,” he said, referring to the previously-ruling National Democratic Party.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
