Al Ahram reports that the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) on Saturday disqualified 10 contenders from Egypt’s anticipated presidential elections, including Salafist Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, former Intelligence boss Omar Suleiman and Muslim Brotherhood financial genius Khairat El-Shater.
The body of judges, appointed by the current Egyptian military junta, SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces), has announced that it “thoroughly checked all applicants’ files and looked into the complaints lodged against them” before deciding their fate.
Apparently, Abu-Ismail was removed from the list of contenders because his mother holds a US citizenship. In Suleiman’s case it was his application, which did not include signatures from at least 15 governorates. And El-Shater was disqualified because of the time he spent in prison for being a Muslim Brother – even though he had received a pardon from SCAF, the same body which appointed the SPEC.
