"One, two, we want disenfranchisement."

This slogan was chanted on Friday afternoon by hundreds of political activists who protested in Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, who were demanding the exclusion of Mubarak-era Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq from the presidential elections runoffs in accordance with the parliament-adopted Disenfranchisement Law. 

The protesters also expressed their rejection of notions to boycott the elections and called for the inclusion of the Nasserist candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi, who finished in third place in the first round of the vote on 24 May, instead of Shafiq, who finished second and is set to face the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Al-Morsi in the runoffs whicha re slated for 16/17 June.

Alexandria, Egypt's second city with a population of 10 million, backed Sabbahi (34 per cent), followed by moderate Islamist and ex- Muslim Brotherhood leader Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh (22 per cent), and Mubarak’s former foreign minister Amr Moussa (16.5 per cent).

The Disenfranchisement Law, passed by parliament in April and signed into law by Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), was supposed to prevent former top Mubarak regime members from holding office for 10 years.

However, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) referred the law to the High Constitutional Court to determine its constitutionality, and, in the meantime, allowed Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister, to run in the contest.

The protesters emphasised their willingness to continue their struggle, directing a fair share of their criticism to the SCAF and the Muslim Brotherhood.