Elbaradei willing to lead new government
- 13 years ago
One day ahead of the start of the parliamentary election and Egyptian protesters are standing firm.
Activists have called for citizens to converge on Cairo's Tahrir square on Sunday continuing their demand for an end to military rule.
Further increasing the pressure on Egypt's ruling generals, Presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei has offered to lead a government of national unity.
The former UN nuclear watchdog chief is respected among pro-democracy campaigners but some Egyptians feel he is out of touch as he spent much of his career out of the country.
(SOUNDBITE) PROTESTER, HAZEM SALEH, SAYING (Arabic):
"The names do not make any difference. What we need is that stature which would lead Egypt in this critical period. It does not matter that this happens by El-Baradei or others. The most important thing is to help the country in this time to recover from the current disturbance. As for Mohamed El-Baradei, he is a respectful person and everybody supports him."
The vote expected to start on Monday is billed as Egypt's first free and fair election in decades.
But voters face a confusing array of candidates and parties and some fears of bribery and violence at polling stations.
Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters
Activists have called for citizens to converge on Cairo's Tahrir square on Sunday continuing their demand for an end to military rule.
Further increasing the pressure on Egypt's ruling generals, Presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei has offered to lead a government of national unity.
The former UN nuclear watchdog chief is respected among pro-democracy campaigners but some Egyptians feel he is out of touch as he spent much of his career out of the country.
(SOUNDBITE) PROTESTER, HAZEM SALEH, SAYING (Arabic):
"The names do not make any difference. What we need is that stature which would lead Egypt in this critical period. It does not matter that this happens by El-Baradei or others. The most important thing is to help the country in this time to recover from the current disturbance. As for Mohamed El-Baradei, he is a respectful person and everybody supports him."
The vote expected to start on Monday is billed as Egypt's first free and fair election in decades.
But voters face a confusing array of candidates and parties and some fears of bribery and violence at polling stations.
Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters