An independent candidate at the Egyptian presidential elections, Hamdeen Sabbahi of the nationalist Dignity party, who came the third in the polls’ first round on Wednesday and Thursday, said he would appeal the results because of violations.
“The law department in my election campaign team has already filed complaints based on the facts and evidence,” Sabbahi, who gained over 20 percent of the votes, said.
The results of the first round of presidential elections in Egypt indicated that a candidate from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, Mohamed Mursi will face off against Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, in a June 16-17 runoff vote.
The polls, which are expected to mark the nation's transition from the present military to civilian rule, are the first alternative elections since 2005 when Mubarak ensured a landslide victory over other candidates.
Sabbahi has no connections to the Mubarak regime and is popular among many youth movements and working class. He is considered “an alternative candidate” for those who favor neither Islamists nor Mubarak regime followers. His campaign slogan was “one of us.”
International observers who monitored the elections cited insignificant violations which could not influenced the final results.
