The head of Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' (SCAF) Advisory Council, Mansour Hassan, announced his intention Wednesday to join the presidential race that officially kicks off Saturday.Hassan, 75, is a veteran politician who served in key executive posts under late president Anwar El-Sadat — including as minister of state affairs for information and culture — and was considered by the late president as a replacement for Hosni Mubarak as vice president days before Sadat was killed by Islamists on 6 October 1981.
In January, the media reported that a campaign was launched in Sharqeya, the hometown of Hassan, to back him as Egypt's first president following the 18-day uprising that resulted in the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak last year.
Egypt's first post-Mubarak presidential election will take place in May. Registration for candidates will begin 10 March, allowing for one and a half months of campaigning. The upcoming polls will be held 23 and 24 May.
