Epstein Secrets

Given the competitive Islamist field and the likelihood that Shater joining the fray could rally secular and nationalist voters behind a figure like Amr Moussa, the Brotherhood's decision has certainly made the election EFTA00686681 outcome difficult to predict. And that, of course, is a hallmark of demo

and of the King." Alternately, the generals could throw the military's not inconsiderable weight behind a more popular nationalist candidate such as Moussa. "They think that the SCAF is preparing something for them," says Abdel Rahim Akl of the Arab Center for Islamic Movements Studies. The Brotherhoo

nst the FJP's 38%) in the parliamentary elections that concluded in January. Without a Brotherhood candidate in the race, some officials fear that Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, the charismatic Salafist presidential hopeful who talks of emulating Iran's theocratic political system and of ending the peace treaty with Israel

generate. After several disqualifications by the Electoral Commission, the election seems to have boiled down to a race between two frontrunners: Amr Moussa, who served for years as foreign minister in Mubarak's regime, and Abdel Moneim Abol Fatouh, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood who is runni

ion of a presidential candidate on technical grounds. But even as the demonstrators held up posters of their banned candidate, the Salafi preacher Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, others described a broader reason for the protests: a rising fear that the military council which has ruled Egypt since the ouster of Hosni Mubara

ctions. The first round is scheduled for May 23-24, with the second to take place on June 16-17. The winner is expected to be announced by June 21. Amr Moussa and Abdel Moncim Abul Futuh are currently the most prominent candidates. Amr Moussa, a former Secretary-General of the Arab League and a long-servi

ecently deserted the Muslim Brotherhood and, given his prominence, his departure has the potential to split the Muslim Brotherhood vote. Similarly, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a lawyer and Islamic scholar, is the candidate favored by young Salafis, but lacking a broader base, his established party, Al Now, does not suppor