Report: Registration for Egypt's presidential race to open March 10

Feb 6, 2012, 17:05 GMT

Cairo - Registration of candidates for Egypt's presidential elections will open on March 10, state-run media reported Monday, as clashes continued between security forces and protesters, who demand the country's military rulers speed up the transfer of power.

Judge Abdel-Moez Ibrahim, head of the High Judicial Elections Commission, told Al-Ahram newspaper website that the date was reached after a meeting with members of the ruling military council, who asked the judges to speed up the election process.

The report said the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Hussein Tantawi, 'stressed the need for completion of the procedures rapidly and their announcement.'

The SCAF had initially proposed registration by mid-April for the elections due to take place in mid-June.

Monday's announcement comes as intermittent clashes between protesters and security forces in central Cairo continued for the fifth day.

Police used tear gas to push away protesters who have been trying to reach the Interior Ministry, located near the iconic Tahrir square, while protesters threw rocks at security.

Clashes began on Thursday after protesters blamed police and the ruling military council for the death of 74 people following a football match in the northern city of Port Said last week.

At least 12 people were killed in clashes in the capital Cairo and the sea port city of Suez, according to official figures.

Several protest groups are accusing the military rulers of having orchestrated the incident, and inciting chaos in the country, to prolong their grip on power.

Others, including the influential Muslim Brotherhood, blame loyalists of ousted President Hosny Mubarak for the disaster.

The SCAF has been in charge of the country since Mubarak stepped down last February after a popular uprising.