Key figure in Egypt’s old regime wins backing in presidential bid

Mr Suleiman, 75, is backed by Egypt’s ruling generals and the state media who want to stop the Islamists from taking over the country and may find support among voters frustrated by the chaos that followed the Arab Spring.

Millions of people took to the streets last year to topple Mr Mubarak’s regime and bring about a free, democratic and more just Egypt. Mr Mubarak named the career army officer vice president days before he was forced to step down.

The notion of a Suleiman presidency would have been ludicrous then. But not any more.

Many Egyptians have since lost faith with the young revolutionaries who engineered Mr Mubarak’s stunning overthrow.

Euphoria soon gave way to frustration as Egyptians struggled to cope with a surge in violent crime, the fallout from a faltering economy and seemingly endless strikes, street protests and sit-ins.

“There is a real constituency that now yearns for law and order and stability after the tumultuous period following the fall of the Mubarak regime,” said Michael Hanna, an Egypt expert from the Century Foundation in New York.

“Many among this sector will view him as a force for such stability in the face of rising chaos and economic uncertainty. But his inextricably tight connection to the former regime and some its most repressive practices will also limit his support.”

On Friday, Mr Suleiman reversed a decision not to run and yesterday he presented his candidacy papers to the election commission just minutes before the deadline expired.

His supporters boasted that he collected more than 100,000 signatures, nearly four times the number of endorsements required for to be able to run in the May 23-24 presidential election.

The presidential vote will be the first since Mr Mubarak’s ousting 14 months ago.

The election commission later announced that 23 candidates have presented their papers, but that a final list would be announced later this week.

The names did not include Buthaina Kamel, the only female hopeful who announced on Sunday she was not able to collect the required minimum of 30,000 signatures.