Five new candidates apply for presidential elections

Five new presidential hopefuls Wednesday registered with the presidential elections commission to stand in the Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential election.

Anwar Afifi, of Democratic People Party, Wafd leader Noaman Gomaa and three other candidates from "Misr Al Fatah" Party presented the committee with their documents, said Osama Atawya.

Atawya said Ahmed Ezz, Abdel Aziz Saleh and Sherif Mahmoud- all members of "Misr Al Fatah" Party -submitted their documents to the commission.

No independent candidates showed up before the commission on Wednesday, he added.

"Presidential candidates should meet special criteria, which largely exceed those required for local posts," Egyptian Presidential Political Advisor Osama el-Baz has said.

Meantime, "A number of candidates do not know the responsibilities and powers of a head of state," el-Baz, told the Egyptian TV yesterday.

He praised President Hosni Mubarak's initiative to amend Article 76 of the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections for the first time in Egypt.