A leading contender for Egypt’s presidency who has run on an ultra-nationalist, anti-foreign platform has been disqualified from running because his mother reportedly is a U.S. citizen.

 

Authorities with the nation’s electoral commission said Hazem Salah Abu Ismail became ineligible due to an Egyptian law that states presidential candidates must have been born in the country to Egyptian parents who have never held citizenship of another country.

 

Proof of Ismail’s disqualification came in the form of paperwork indicating his late mother became an American citizen on October 25, 2006.

 

His supporters claim the documents are fraudulent, blame the U.S. government for the news and say it is part of an attempt to remove Abu Ismail from the election ballot. In response, his supporters have flooded President Barack Obama’s Facebook page with comments defending Abu Ismail, demanding the U.S. to release the documents publically and asking Obama to take their side.  

 

This week an Egyptian court will study the matter and decide if Abu Ismail is eligible to run.

 

Khaled Fahmy, a historian at the American University in Cairo, said without Ismail in the race, the candidate supported by the Egyptian military, Omar Suleiman, stands a stronger chance of winning. Suleiman previously served as intelligence chief under former president Hosni Mubarak.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Abu-Ismail: The Battle Continues (by Sherif Tarek, Ahram Online)

Egyptians Flood Obama's Facebook Page In Election Row (BBC News)

In Egypt, Foreign Citizenship Rule Roils Presidential Race (by Leila Fadel, Washington Post)

Egyptian Protesters Rally To Keep Islamist In Race (by Aya Batrawy, Associated Press)