Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Fred Kempe
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our top photos from the past week. Full Article
Images of March
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Search resumes in high-profile New York missing child case
11:10am EDT
China military warns of confrontation over seas
10:41am EDT
Analysis: Did U.S. fumble chance to peer inside China's secretive leadership?
5:18am EDT
Veteran Utah senator appears set to survive Tea Party challenge
9:31am EDT
French voters disillusioned on eve of election day
9:22am EDT
Discussed
177
Trayvon Martin’s killer showed signs of injury: neighbors
94
Scandal mars Obama’s wooing of Latin America
91
Nugent says had ”solid” meeting with Secret Service
Watched
Bull on bull in South Korean sport
Fri, Apr 20 2012
IMF gets $400 billion commitment
Fri, Apr 20 2012
Repaired A380 set for takeoff
5:06am EDT
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Weird world records
From who can wear the most bees to who can unicycle the longest. Slideshow
Protests in Bahrain
Anti-government demonstrations continue in Bahrain. Slideshow
New Brotherhood candidate pitched in to Egypt race
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Egyptians mass to demand army retreat from power
Fri, Apr 20 2012
Barred Islamist says Egypt army wants to keep power
Wed, Apr 18 2012
Egypt vote chaos boosts Moussa, Abol Fotouh
Tue, Apr 17 2012
Top Islamists, Mubarak VP confirmed out of Egypt vote
Tue, Apr 17 2012
Top contenders fight to stay in Egypt election
Sun, Apr 15 2012
Analysis & Opinion
In India and Pakistan talks, an intimately tangled web
Cameron urges Muslim Brotherhood, other Islamists to learn from Indonesia
Related Topics
World »
Egypt »
By Edmund Blair and Tamim Elyan
CAIRO |
Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:21am EDT
CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood's new presidential candidate, pitched into the race after its first choice was disqualified, promised on Saturday to govern in coalition and to steady Egypt after more than a year of political turmoil.
Mohamed Mursi, 59, the head of the Brotherhood's political party, said he would seek the votes of ultra-conservative Muslims after a popular hardline Salafi candidate was barred too, but he promised to be a president for all Egyptians.
The quietly spoken engineer is trying to make up ground after Khairat al-Shater, a millionaire businessman and top Brotherhood strategist, was blocked from running because of a conviction handed down in President Hosni Mubarak's era when the Islamist group was banned.
The Brotherhood's broad grass-roots network will help Mursi, but rival Islamists and liberal candidates who served under Mubarak have campaigned longer and can boast better name recognition.
Mursi also needs to prove that as the Brotherhood's reserve candidate he has the authority to lead the Arab world's most populous nation after a turbulent transition led by generals who took power after Mubarak was ousted 14 months ago.
"The word 'reserve' is over ... Now the Brotherhood and (its) Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has a candidate with a clear program in this election," Mursi told Reuters in an interview shortly before his first campaign news conference.
"I hope the people will choose me, an Islamist candidate from the FJP and Muslim Brotherhood, and God willing the system will move towards stability and development," he said.
The election is the final stage in Egypt's transition to civilian rule. The army has said it will hand over power by July 1, but the military, which has provided every president for six decades and has sprawling business interests, is expected to be a powerful player behind the scenes for years.
The outcome of the race is being closely watched around the region, where Egypt has long had an influential role, and in the West, wary of the rise of Islamists in a nation that in 1979 became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel.
PROMISE TO REACH OUT
Asked about relations with Israel, Mursi said: "Egypt's next president can't be like his predecessor, he can't be a follower who executes policies put to him from outside," referring to popular criticism of Mubarak as a man who did U.S. bidding.
An aide said Mursi was committed to the Brotherhood's pledge to uphold international treaties, a reference to the peace deal. But the aide said Mursi would not meet Israeli officials as president, though his foreign minister would.
Mursi, echoing the position of his party which dominates parliament, promised to reach out and govern in coalition.
"A coalition government led by the majority party is what will achieve the will of the people," he told a news conference, where his more modest demeanor contrasted with the powerful delivery of the burly Shater when he addressed reporters.
Shater's first news conference was accompanied by carefully choreographed videos and music, absent from Saturday's event.
Though the Brotherhood has pledged to be inclusive, liberals and other rivals have accused it of hogging power by securing the biggest bloc in parliament and dominating an assembly to draw up the constitution, prompting rivals to walk out. That assembly has now been suspended.
It also broke its initial vow not to run for the presidency.
Rivals also question the independence of any Brotherhood candidate, saying he would take orders from the group's top authority, the supreme guide, and this would push Egypt towards a theocracy. Mursi dismissed this, saying "there is no room for talk about decisions coming from outside the presidency."
Mursi's main rivals in the race are Amr Moussa, a former foreign minister, Mubarak's last prime minister and ex-air force commander Ahmed Shafiq, and Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, a moderate Islamist expelled from the Brotherhood for announcing his presidential bid last year against the group's wishes.
The competition was reduced by the disqualification of one Islamist contender, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, whose Salafi views are much stricter than the Brotherhood's. Mursi said he would try to pick up the Salafi vote.
"The vote of the Salafis and the (Salafi) al-Nour party is of course targeted, as are other votes of Egyptians," he said, adding the Brotherhood was coordinating with Nour and Salafi figures but they had yet to announce who they would back.
CONSULTATION
The next president's handling of the army will be closely scrutinized at home and abroad. The army sparked violent protests last year when its cabinet presented proposals for the new constitution that would have permanently shielded the military from civilian oversight.
Mursi said no "entity will be above the constitution" but did not spell out his vision for the army's status. He said the army's budget should be overseen by parliament but there would be a need for secrecy in specific areas.
He also said he would consult the army over who would be defense minister in a new cabinet.
The Brotherhood opposed the army's constitutional proposals but has become less confrontational. Analysts say it wants to avoid a conflict that could jeopardize the huge political strides it has made after years of repression under Mubarak.
Mursi served one term in parliament under Mubarak, notionally as an independent to skirt a ban on the Brotherhood, but lost his seat in the 2005 race, which was widely seen as rigged. The Brotherhood's gains now have brought it closer to power than at any time in its 84-year history.
Outlining measures for improving the battered economy, Mursi identified security, Egypt's heaving traffic and the health hazards of street garbage as priority areas, issues that worry the public and are often raised in parliamentary campaigns.
Economists say Egypt needs swift action to bring back investors and tourists to stave off a balance of payments crisis.
(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Tim Pearce)
World
Egypt
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.