Mubarak-era presidential hopeful reaches out to opposition

Cairo - Ahmad Shafiq, a contender in Egypt’s presidential run-off, praised the youth for leading the revolt that deposed former president Hosni Mubarak as he promised them “an Egypt for all”.

“I stretch out my hands to everyone because Egypt is for all without exception or exclusion,” said Shafiq, Mubarak’s last premier.

Shafiq is facing the powerful Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammad Mursi in the run-off vote on June 16 and 17.

His rivals see Shafiq, an ex-army general, as an extension of the Mubarak regime.

But Shafiq Saturday took pains to distance himself from Mubarak.

“Egypt will not go backwards. There is no a possibility that the former regime will be revived,” he told his supporters.

Faced with the stark choice between a military man and a conservative Islamist in the run-off, several protest groups have announced a boycott of the election proceedings.

Shafiq said Saturday that the “millions of the Egyptians” who voted for him in the first round of the polls held last week want to see stability back in the country after months of turmoil.

“Egypt saw great [presidential] elections, which would not have been possible without the great revolution staged by Egypt’s youth,” said the 70-year-old candidate.

He added that if he becomes president for the next four years, he would usher Egypt into a new era of “democracy, social justice and human rights”.

A last entry in Egypt’s presidential race, Shafiq has portrayed himself as an experienced statesman able to re-establish security in Egypt and curb the rise of Islamists.

He ruled out possible tensions between him and the Muslim Brotherhood, who holds nearly half of the parliament’s seats.

“The parliament has a role to play and so does the president. At the end of the day, any collision will harm the nation’s interests,” he said.

Hours after last week’s voting, Mursi urged leaders of the anti-Shafiq groups to meet him for “consultations to save the revolution”, according to officials in the group.

The Brotherhood is seeking to secure support from these blocs to dwindle Shafiq’s chances of winning in the run-off.

Unconfirmed reports said that Mursi will offer leftist opposition leader Hamdeen Sabahi and moderate Islamist Abdul Moneim Abu Al Fotouh, who finished third and fourth respectively in the presidential vote, to become his deputies if he gets the presidency.