Presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh held a popular campaign rally in the town of Nagaa Hammadi in the governorate of Qena Friday.

"If this country is ruled again by the imbeciles and the corrupt, it will be an infringement on the revolution," Abul-Fotouh said during the speech he made at the rally.

Abul-Fotouh, who announced in June 2011 that he intended to run for the highest office in Egypt, submitted his presidential candidacy application Thursday to the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission in Cairo.

"The idea of an extremist regime ruling Egypt is inconceivable. There is no religious or secular extremism in Egypt. Egyptians are centrists by nature," he added.

Abul-Fotouh also warned that the upcoming presidential elections in the country faces the "danger of buying out popular will," as he called on the Egyptian people to choose their candidate with integrity in order to protect the revolution from the "incursion of political money in polls."

Abul-Fotouh is a practicing physician with extensive experience in relief work on an international level, a prominent Islamist activist and a former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, also known for his liberal positions on social issues.

Egypt's first presidential elections following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in the January 25 Revolution will take place 23-24 May, with the president named on 21 June after a runoff voting round, if necessary, on 16-17 June.

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