The Chairperson of Egypt's Ghad Party, Moussa Mostafa Moussa (C), speaks during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt on Jan. 29, 2018. The Chairperson of Egypt's Ghad Party, Moussa Mostafa Moussa, presented Monday his candidacy documents for Egyptian presidential elections to the country's election authority, official Ahram Online website reported. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chairperson of Egypt's Ghad Party, Moussa Mostafa Moussa, presented Monday his candidacy documents for Egyptian presidential elections to the country's election authority, official Ahram Online website reported.
Moussa has completed requirements to file as a candidate in the elections set for March, including 47,000 citizens' endorsements as well as 26 endorsements from members of parliament.
Egypt will hold its 2018 presidential race from March 26 to 28. A 10-day candidate registration has started on Jan. 20, while electoral campaigns will kick off on Feb. 24 and the result of the first round will be announced on April 2.
Presidential hopefuls must submit at least 25,000 endorsements from citizens across 15 governorates or 20 endorsements from members of parliament to qualify as candidates.
Moussa took the medical exam required for hopeful candidates on Sunday, according to Ahram.
The National Election Authority (NEA) will publish on 31 January the list of individuals who submitted candidacy requests in the official newspapers, while the official and final list of those who qualify as candidates is scheduled to be announced on 24 February.
Until Monday morning, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi had remained the only hopeful candidate to submit all required papers and endorsements to the NEA.
In the past few weeks, several well-known public figures ended their potential candidacy for president for various reasons.
Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a 66-year-old engineer, is the chairman of the Ghad Party which does not hold any seats in the Egyptian parliament.
The Ghad Party was initially founded in 2004 by the well-known lawyer Ayman Nour, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 presidential elections against former president Hosni Mubarak.
Following the 2011 uprising against Mubarak, Ghad splintered into two smaller parties after the group suffered from internal struggles between various wings over leadership.
In May 2011, Moussa, who had left the Ghad in 2005, returned as chairman of the party after the ousting of Nour from the leadership.
