Abou Ismail’s Supporters Denounce Ban Decision

Egyptian demonstrators have urged the Presidential Election Commission to reinstate the Islamic parties’ candidates for the upcoming presidential elections.
Chanting slogans during a rally against the ruling junta on Friday in the capital, Cairo, hundreds of protesters called for the reinstatement of these candidates for the presidential race and the overhaul of election law. 

The demonstrators also demanded the ruling military council to ban remnants of former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime from running for the president. 

The protesters further condemned the Supreme Electoral Committee for allowing former Premier Ahmed Shafiq to enter the fray along with 12 other hopefuls listed by the electoral commission. 

This is while Shafiq was disqualified Tuesday after the Supreme Council of Armed Forces approved a law barring Mubarak ministers from seeking office. But the electoral committee restored him to the ballot on Thursday. 

Egypt’s electoral commission earlier disqualified the Muslim Brotherhood’s prime candidate, Khairat al-Shater. Salafi nominee Hazem Abu Ismail was also banned from the May polls along with seven others. 

Egypt’s polls, the country’s first-ever freely contested presidential elections, are scheduled to be held on May 23-24, and a run-off will follow on June 16-17 if necessary, according to Press TV.