ElBaradei pulls out of Egyptian presidency race

[dipsydoodle]

(Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei pulled out of the race for the Egyptian presidency on Saturday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner saying "the previous regime" was still running the country which has been governed by army generals since Hosni Mubarak was deposed.

"My conscience does not permit me to run for the presidency or any other official position unless it is within a real democratic system," said the former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, once seen a leading contender for the presidency.

ElBaradei has been a vocal critic of the military council which has been governing Egypt since Mubarak was toppled in February, swept from power by mass protests driven by demands for accountable and democratic government.

The military council's opponents say it is seeking to preserve power and privilege in the post-Mubarak era and do not believe the generals' repeated promises that they will surrender power to civilian rule at the end of June.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/14/us-egypt-presidency-elbaradei-idUSTRE80D0HQ20120114

[David__77]

1. He's pulling out because he knows he'd massively lose.

Sounds like sour grapes to me. If the polls showed him with substantial support, he'd maybe be singing a different tune. The Egyptian voters will elect a different sort of candidate. The problem with abstention is that it will only marginalize forces from the new mainstream.