Egypt's military opens presidential race

GlobalPost

Egypt will open nominations for candidates for president in mid-April, with elections slated for mid-June, one of the country's ruling army generals told a local television station Sunday. But is the race already tainted? 

Nobel laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, withdrew his bid for Egypt's presidency on Saturday, saying he feels as though "the former regime has not fallen." (English translation of ElBaradei's statement here, recommended by the stellar Middle East Arabist blog). 

Egypt's transition to democracy since a popular uprising ousted former president Hosni Mubarak in February has been messy at best, with deadly crackdowns on protests, torture, military trials and media censorship.

The ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) had issued contradictory statements about when it planned to handover power to civilian rule, at one point saying presidential elections would not be held until 2013.

ElBaradei was not expected to garner a significant portion of the vote, but is largely respected as a man of integrity in Egypt's political circles. (Although outside Tahrir Square, he is often denounced as a Western stooge). 

For more analysis on ElBaradei's withdrawal in the context of parliamentary elections and military rule, see here and here

More from GlobalPost: Mohamed ElBaradei pulls out of Egyptian election

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