Cairo: An Egyptian-American dissident who was one of the first to criticise the possibility of hereditary succession in Egypt has broken with the opposition by signing a petition calling on the president's son to run for election.
The apparent reversal by Sociologist Sa'ad Al Deen Ebrahim surprised Egypt's disparate opposition, which has largely coalesced around the issue of stopping President Hosni Mubarak's 46-year-old son Jamal from succeeding his father.
Mubarak, 82, has not designated a successor or said whether he will run for a sixth term in next year's election. But for the past decade, it has been widely believed he is grooming is son to take over. The president underwent surgery in Germany in March to remove his gall bladder and a benign growth in the lining of his small intestine, setting off speculation about how long he will stay in office.
Ebrahim was one of the first to publicly criticise hereditary succession in 2000, raising the ire of the government. He was charged with embezzlement and tarnishing the country's image, subjected to a three-year court battle and was imprisoned twice, prompting stern US criticism.
Shortly before boarding a flight to the United States on Monday, Ebrahim claimed that signing the petition was not a reversal of his long-held position.
"I signed to support his right as a citizen to run, but I don't endorse him," he said.
The petition "authorises" Jamal Mubarak to nominate himself for the presidency and represent all Egyptians. Magdy Al Kurdi, the coordinator of the new pro-Jamal campaign, described Ebrahim's endorsement as "a positive change in his position toward Jamal."
