Mubarak's Premier Shafiq to Run for Egypt Presidency in '18

(Bloomberg) -- A prime minister who served under Egypt’s former leader Hosni Mubarak plans to return from exile and contest next year’s presidential election, in which incumbent Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is expected to seek a second term.

Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force pilot who lost the presidential election runoff against the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi in 2012, has been cleared of all corruption charges and removed from airport watchlists, said General Raouf El-Sayyed, deputy head of the political party founded by Shafiq from exile.

Appearing on Al-Jazeera from the United Arab Emirates, Shafiq said he planned to visit Egyptians living abroad before returning to his homeland, but said U.A.E. authorities blocked him from leaving “for reasons I don’t understand.”

The U.A.E.’s foreign affairs minister disputed that account, and El-Sayyed suggested that any disagreement was resolved.

“There is nothing to prevent him from returning to Egypt and running in elections,” El-Sayyed said by phone on Wednesday.

President El-Sisi, who as military chief removed Mursi from office in mid-2013 after mass protests and won the presidency the following year, said last month he had yet to decide whether to seek a second term. Few politicians have declared their intention to run; challengers include rights lawyer Khaled Ali.

Shafiq’s Egyptian Patriotic Movement will hold a general conference on Dec. 23 to discuss the elections and formally announce its candidate, El-Sayyed said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mirette Magdy in Cairo at mmagdy1@bloomberg.net, Zaid Sabah in Washington at zalhamid@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Caroline Alexander

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