CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood, the big winners of Egypt’s parliamentary vote, will not field a candidate for the Egyptian presidency, its leader Mohamed Badie said on Thursday.
"The Muslim Brotherhood will not support (former member) Abdel Moneim Abol Fotoh or any candidate who has an Islamic reference in the presidential elections," he said, quoted by Egypt’s news agency MENA.
He said the movement would "reach an agreement with all national powers on the qualifications of the upcoming president," stressing that "the demands of the Egyptian nation are on the top of the Muslim Brotherood’s priorities."
Egypt’s Islamists led by the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood clinched two thirds of seats in parliament in historic polls following last year’s ouster of president Hosni Mubarak.
The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party won 235 seats in the new People’s Assembly, or 47.18 percent, while the ultra-conservative Salafist Al-Nour party came second with 121 seats.
The landmark election was the first since Mubarak’s overthrow last February. It began in November and was carried out in three stages.
The Muslim Brotherhood has repeatedly said it would not run for the presidency in polls which are to take place by the end of June at a yet to be fixed date.
The military, which took power after the fall of Mubarak, has said it will hand over once a president is elected in a democratic poll.
