Egyptian People Rejected Omar Suleiman as Vice-President; Will Not Accept Him as President

MP Ali Fateh Al-Bab, majority leader of the Egyptian Shura Council, said that the revolution was launched against a regime in which Omar Suleiman was a key partner, “The Egyptian people who rejected him as Vice-President will certainly not accept him as President.

“It is the people who will decide and choose who they want to represent and preside over them. They will distinguish between those who usurped their rights, murdered their sons and daughters and destroyed foreign policy, and those who sacrificed their lives, their freedoms and fortunes in order to safeguard the people’s rights and the rights of their children”.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera Mubasher – Misr (live – Egypt) satellite TV channel, Fateh Al-Bab said that nomination of Omar Suleiman reinforces all the concerns of the Egyptian people and revolution youth that the military will not relinquish power smoothly. He added that the scene in which military police formed a protective shield around Omar Suleiman as he entered the presidential election committee headquarters further fuelled public fears. Fateh Al-Bab also pointed that there is a big difference between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the Armed Forces at large.

The esteemed MP added that, “Suleiman’s nomination would not at all be a threat to the Egyptian people, if transparent, free and fair elections are guaranteed, with legal safeguards, as happened in recent parliamentary elections".

On rumors and reports claiming SCAF pushed Omar Suleiman into the presidential race for fear of the Brotherhood grabbing the reins of power, MP Fateh Al-Bab asserted that the opposite is true. He stressed that the Muslim Brotherhood put forth Khairat Al-Shater as a contender only after SCAF’s intention became self-evident proving that it seeks to continue to rule the country, and after the Brotherhood saw the imminent threat to the gains and goals of the revolution.