CAIRO, April 8 (Reuters) - The intelligence chief of Egypt's deposed leader Hosni Mubarak formally joined the race for the presidency on Sunday, a last-minute entrance that raises the heat in a contest pitting former regime figures against newly-assertive Islamists.
Omar Suleiman, 74, announced he planned to run on Friday, saying overwhelming public pressure had aroused his sense of soldierly duty. He had needed to collect the signatures of 30,000 eligible voters by Sunday’s deadline in order to take part.
Ecstatic supporters cheered behind lines of military police as Suleiman arrived at the office of the state election committee inCairo. He then handed in his candidacy documents, state news agencyMENAreported, citing a committee official.
