A Salafi leader has for the first time spoken openly on Monday about a possible deal between the Salafi Nour Party and the military over a particular candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
The website of the state-run daily Al-Ahram quoted Salafi Front spokesperson Khaled Saeed as saying the party would not support Salafi presidential hopeful Hazem Abu Ismail, possibly because of an agreement with the military not to support an Islamist for the presidency.
Abu Ismail is believed to enjoy wide acceptance among Salafis, however, Nour, which holds the second-largest bloc of seats in Parliament, following the Freedom and Justice Party, has yet to announce who it will support in the race.
Speaking to State TV, Nour party spokesperson Yousry Hammad said on Monday that the party is not currently supporting a particular presidential candidate.
“We want to study all electoral platforms before we decide,” he said, stressing that the next president should be an Islamist who applies the Islamic law.
CNN Arabic quoted a number of politicians and activists late January as saying they suspected the existence of a deal between Islamist movements, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in which they would support a particular candidate agreed upon by both parties.
The suspected deal would ensure the safe exit of SCAF members after power is handed over to a civilian president. Several presidential hopefuls rejected the idea of being part of such a deal.
