Runoff candidate Morsi seeks to reassure Egypt's political forces

Ahram Online , Tuesday 29 May 2012

Mohammed Morsi
File photo: The Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi (Photo: AP)

Presidential contender Mohamed Morsi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), offers guarantees to Egyptian people and county's disparate political forces, in a press conference currently being held in Cairo.

Morsi promised to resign from the FJP once he is elected president and form a coalition government that will not be necessarily be headed by a fellow party member. The Muslim Brother also stated that he would appoint a vice president and advisors representative of the entire political spectrum.

He also promised to push for a balanced constituent assembly to draft the new constitution.

"We (the Freedom and Justice Party) made a mistake, when we tried to put together the constituent assembly, but now we want to do it right and make it inclusive," Morsi said.

The press conference comes amid demands by liberal and revolutionary groups that the Brotherhood guarantee a free and democratic civil state in return for the support of these groups in the presidential election runoff set to take place on 15 and 16 June.

The Brotherhood candidate will be running against Mubarak's last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq. Both candidates failed to win 50 per cent of the votes in the first round of the elections that took place on 23 and 24 May.

Ahram Online will provide extensive coverage of Morsi's press conference as soon as it ends.

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