Egypt's election commission disqualified 10 presidential hopefuls, including the country's ex-spy chief and key Islamists, from running in a surprise decision that threatened to upend the already tumultuous race.
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.Farouk Sultan, the head of the Supreme Presidential Election Commission, said that those barred from the race included Hosni Mubarak's former spy chief Omar Suleiman, Muslim Brotherhood chief strategist Khairat el-Shater and hard-line lawyer-turned-preacher Hazem Abu Ismail. He didn't give a reason.
The announcement came as a shock to many Egyptians as three of the 10 excluded were considered among the front-runners. They now have 48 hours to appeal the decision, according to election rules. The final list of candidates will be announced on April 26.
Thirteen others had their candidacy approved, including former Arab League chief Amr Moussa, moderate Islamist Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh and former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, according to Sultan.
The struggle for power more than a year after Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising has heated up with the approach of next month's presidential vote, in which Islamists see their chance to capture Egypt's highest post. The race has shaped up as a contest between the newly ascendant Muslim Brotherhood and members of Mubarak's former inner circle.
The Muslim Brotherhood along with hardline ultraconservative Salafis have captured more than 70 percent of the parliament seats in the first post-revolution elections.
Liberal and secular revolutionaries who spearheaded the mass protests that led to Mubarak's ouster have largely been sidelined.
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