Arab League chief refuses to rule out Egypt presidential bid

Oct 20, 2009, 18:12 GMT

Cairo - Arab League chief Amr Mussa did not rule out the possibility that he might run for president of Egypt in 2011, in remarks published on Tuesday.

'Every capable and effective citizen has the right to serve the homeland, including by occupying its highest position, the presidency,' Mussa, 73, told the independent Cairo daily al-Shorouk in an interview.

His remarks came amid widespread speculation over who might succeed President Hosny Mubarak, 81, who has occupied his post for 28 years.

Mubarak has not announced whether he will stand for reelection in elections scheduled for 2011, but in 2006 he told Egyptians: 'I will carry on with you, crossing to the future, shouldering the responsibility, as long as my heart is beating and I'm breathing.'

Speculation that Mubarak's son, Gamal, was being groomed to replace his father intensified in 2002 when he was named head of the ruling National Democratic Party's Policies Committee.

Civic responsibility applied to all Egyptians, Mussa told al- Shorouk, 'including me, you, and Gamal Mubarak.'

While Mussa stressed that he did not 'have specific thoughts about a nomination for the presidency,' he also said he was 'proud' of 'the confidence that many citizens have expressed' in his nomination for the job.

Opposition activists and expatriate Egyptian groups have mentioned Mussa's name alongside former International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohammed ElBaradei as possible candidates for Egypt's most powerful job.

As foreign minister during the 1990s, and as secretary general of the Arab League since 2002, Mussa's blunt criticism of Israel and the United States has brought him widespread popularity in Egypt and across the region.