Friday, March 05, 2010
BERLIN: Egypt's long-standing President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday former UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei could run in the 2011 presidential election as long as he respected the constitution.
ElBaradei, emerging as Egypt's most high-profile dissident, has called for an amendment of the constitution which includes rules that would make it difficult for him to challenge Mubarak at the ballot box.
"If he wants to join a party, he could choose whichever one he wants," Mubarak told reporters during a visit to Germany, according to a translation of his comments in Arabic.
"If he wants to be a candidate for that party (at the presidential elections), he could do that. If he wants to stand as an independent candidate, he could do that," he said.
"The only thing is that he must respect the constitution," he said, adding the country "does not need a new hero".
Under Egyptian law, a presidential candidate is required to have been a leading member of a party for at least one year and for the party to have existed for at least five years.
As an independent, ElBaradei would need the backing of at least 250 elected officials from parliament's upper and lower houses and from municipal councils -- all bodies dominated by Mubarak's National Democratic Party.
ElBaradei last month he flew to Cairo to a rapturous welcome from supporters and formed the National Association for Change, before leaving Egypt again. He is due to return.
He has said he would run for president on condition that the constitution is amended.
The 67-year-old former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency has also called for democratic reforms of the Egyptian regime which Mubarak, 81, has headed for nearly three decades.
Mubarak met journalists after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He is due to have medical tests in the city of Heidelberg Friday after suffering gall bladder pain, Egypt public television announced Thursday in a rare statement on the leader's health, which is almost taboo.
BERLIN: Egypt's long-standing President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday former UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei could run in the 2011 presidential election as long as he respected the constitution.
ElBaradei, emerging as Egypt's most high-profile dissident, has called for an amendment of the constitution which includes rules that would make it difficult for him to challenge Mubarak at the ballot box.
"If he wants to join a party, he could choose whichever one he wants," Mubarak told reporters during a visit to Germany, according to a translation of his comments in Arabic.
"If he wants to be a candidate for that party (at the presidential elections), he could do that. If he wants to stand as an independent candidate, he could do that," he said.
"The only thing is that he must respect the constitution," he said, adding the country "does not need a new hero".
Under Egyptian law, a presidential candidate is required to have been a leading member of a party for at least one year and for the party to have existed for at least five years.
As an independent, ElBaradei would need the backing of at least 250 elected officials from parliament's upper and lower houses and from municipal councils -- all bodies dominated by Mubarak's National Democratic Party.
ElBaradei last month he flew to Cairo to a rapturous welcome from supporters and formed the National Association for Change, before leaving Egypt again. He is due to return.
He has said he would run for president on condition that the constitution is amended.
The 67-year-old former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency has also called for democratic reforms of the Egyptian regime which Mubarak, 81, has headed for nearly three decades.
Mubarak met journalists after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He is due to have medical tests in the city of Heidelberg Friday after suffering gall bladder pain, Egypt public television announced Thursday in a rare statement on the leader's health, which is almost taboo.
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