Egypt's presidential race begins

Egypt on Saturday began registering candidates who will contest the historic May election to pick Hosni Mubarak's democratic successor, kicking off the country's first free presidential race. The election commission, headed by the president of the Supreme Constitutional Court, began accepting candidacy applications on Saturday morning. Any political party that has a representative in the People's Assembly or Shura Council has the right to nominate a presidential candidate, whereas an independent candidate must obtain the support of at least 30 MPs or 30,000 voters. The registration process ends on 8th April after which candidates will begin campaigning. Numerous candidates have stepped forward so far, some linked with the former regime, including Mubarak's last prime minister and former senior Egyptian air force commander Ahmed Shafiq, the Egypt Independent reported. Another such candidate is Mubarak-era Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, most recently the Arab League's secretary general. Also running is Mansour Hassan, a veteran Egyptian politician who is close to the country's military rulers. Shafiq was the first prominent candidate to officially apply to run, alongside other candidates who do not enjoy wide media reputations. According to state news agency MENA Shafiq was present early Saturday morning at the headquarters of the high elections commission, accompanied by members of his campaign and legal advisers. Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood, whose Freedom and Justice Party scored a big win in legislative elections, has said it will announce a consensus candidate for the presidential race before the poll. The head of elections commission, Farouk Sultan, told a nationally televised news conference that a 21-day presidential election campaign period will begin on 30th April; more than a month after candidates can begin submitting their applications for the race. The election is scheduled to start in May. The winner will take responsibility in June, ending the rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, which took control after Mubarak's exit.