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Mubarak, force for stability in Egypt
CAIRO: In the Nile Delta town of Shibin el-Kom, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced on Thursday he would seek a fifth six-year term at the helm of the most populous Arab nation, where most people can remember no other leader.
Mubarak's main rival in the presidential election on September 7 is likely to be Ayman Nour of the liberal Ghad Party, who was detained in January and remains on trial on charges of forgery. He says the charges are fabricated to discredit him. Mubarak has already ruled Egypt longer than anyone since Muhammad Ali Pasha. In the early 19th century the Albanian adventurer founded the dynasty toppled by the military in 1952. Thrust into office by the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat, the burly former air force commander has proven a far more durable leader than anyone imagined likely at the time. 'No picnic' Mubarak began his presidency by leading Egypt back toward the centre of regional politics after it was ostracized in the Arab world for making peace with Israel in 1979. He quashed an Islamist uprising in the 1990s but did not follow up with
practical steps to make Egypt more democratic.
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Mubarak has been a force for stability for nearly 25 years, promoting peace
abroad and economic reforms at home.
