Kafr Al Shaikh: Egypt's influential Muslim Brotherhood will run a contender for the country's presidential election, said the group's Supreme Guide Mohammad Badie, signaling a change in its stance on the top post.
"Our decision to field a candidate (for presidency) does not mean a real change in our promises," he told a rally in the Nile Delta province of Kafr Al Shaikh. "What Egypt is experiencing has prompted us to reconsider our previous pledge to serve national interests," he added.
The Brotherhood last year pledged not to field a nominee for president in a bid to allay fears about its agenda following the massive gains the group made in parliamentary polls, the first since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February last year.
Badie added that the group's decision to field its own presidential contender came after figures from the Mubarak regime announced bids to contest the presidential vote in late May. Officials in the group had earlier said a final decision on the issue and the name of a potential contestant were to be made public later this week.
The Muslim Brotherhood holds nearly half of the parliament. The group together with radical Salafists make up more than 60 per cent of a panel picked at the weekend to write a new constitution for Egypt.
