Amr Moussa first independent to submit required documents for presidental race
Ahram Online, Saturday 24 Mar 2012
Former Secretary General of Arab League Amr Moussa is the first independent candidate to turn in the required number of recommendations and documents to run in Egypt's presidential race


Former Arab League chief, Amr Moussa, handed in to the High Electoral Commission late Friday the required number of recommendation forms and documents necessary to enter Egypt's presidential race.

According to his campaign manager, Moussa has obtained 45,000 recommendations from 20 different governorates, although he was only required to garner 30,000.

Moussa's campaign manager stated on Friday that the Moussa had already obtained the forms a week ago. His campaign had spent the last days counting and verifying the validity of the forms. The governorates from which the forms had been collected include Kafr El-Sheikh, South Sinai, Giza, Gharbiya, Daqahliya, Sharqiya, Menoufiya, Damietta, Cairo, Beni Sueif, Aswan, Qena, Sohag, Minya, Assiut, Ismailiya, Suez, El-Wadi Al-Gedid, Qalioubiya, Port Said, Fayoum, Alexandria and the Red Sea.

Moussa is the first independent potential candidate to hand in all the recommendations and documents required, which will be reviewed. Others that are already registered and officially in the race representative their party and, therefore, weren't subject to the requirement that an independent candidate, like Moussa, must garner 30,000 recommendations from citizens along with a CV proving each persons' identity.

Party-based candidates, on the other hand, only require their party’s official recommendation be certified by the Political Parties Committee and a certificate from the People’s Assembly or Shura Council (lower and upper house of parliament).

Another independent candidate, the Salafist Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, declared that he's garnered the necessary recommendations and documents, however, he has yet to submit them to the High Electoral Commission.

The formal registration process for presidential candidates started 10 March and closes on 8 April.Thepresidential election will be held on 23 and 24 May 2012. If no candidate garners more than half the vote in the first round, the top two candidates will face one another in a runoff on 16-17 June.

Amr Moussa was Arab League secretary general between 2001 and 2011. He was also Egypt's foreign minister under Hosni Mubarak between 1991 - 2001.

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