Egypt: Omar Suleiman Gets Death Threats

Omar Suleiman, former head of Egyptian intelligence and presidential candidate in next month’s elections, said he has no connection with the military junta, in an interview published Monday by the Egyptian daily Al Akhbar. The former aide to toppled President Hosni Mubarak said he was subject to death threats by the Muslim Brotherhood.

His candidacy, accompanied by 72,000 voters’ signatures collected in one day, was recorded a few hours before the registration deadline. Thirty thousand signatures were required to present him.

“The Supreme Council (of the Armed Forces) has no positive or negative relationships with my decision to enter the presidential race,” he said. “And as soon as my presidential candidacy was announced, I received on my phone death threats and promises of revenge from the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist movements,” he added.

For his part Khairat al Shater, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, said Suleiman’s candidacy was an “insult for the revolution and the Egyptian people.” “Omar Suleiman has made a big mistake. He can only win by fraud and, if this happens, the revolution will restart,” he vowed in an interview with Reuters.

“We cannot go back in time. The revolution has created a new reality (…) and nobody can ever revive a regime that has failed and which was rejected by the public.

“And I said to the Egyptian youth and to those I met during the revolution that I am in favor of their legitimate demands,” he said in the interview published Monday.