Freedom and Justice Party names Khairat al-Shater as its presidential nominee for May´s elections

The Muslim Brotherhood´s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has named Khairat al-Shater, a deputy to the Brotherhood´s leader and an accomplished businessman in Egypt, as its presidential candidate, Cairo´s media reported Saturday.

Shater was elected by a majority vote among the party´s members. Fifty six members of the Party´s 108-representative council voted in favor of Shater, while the other 52 members opposed the nomination.

Shater, 62, is an Egyptian engineer. He joined the party in 1974, and is considered to be a main financier of the Brotherhood. In 1995 he was appointed as deputy chairman of the Party. He was imprisoned under the Mubarak regime from 2007 and was released by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in March 2011.

Following the victory of the FJP, parliamentary wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 2012 parliamentary election, Shater was considered a likely candidate for presidency.

Several other party members were named as possible nominees for the presidency such as Arab League Chief Nabil el-Arabi and former Arab League chief Umaru Musa. (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 03/31/12)