It is still not clear which of Egypt’s presidential candidates can be taken seriously, which ones have made up their minds about running, and which ones are merely seeking their ten minutes of fame— particularly businessmen.

Take businessman Ahmad Mukhtar, whose “candidacy” has spread across the 6^thOctober City’s graffiti even though he has not been mentioned in any presidential debate.

Mukhtar’s alleged candidacy soon spread all over the capital and beyond, where posters can be spotted on the agricultural road between Cairo and the Egyptian Delta.

It is still not clear which of Egypt’s presidential candidates can be taken seriously, which ones have made up their minds about running, and which ones are merely seeking their ten minutes of fame— particularly businessmen.

Take businessman Ahmad Mukhtar, whose “candidacy” has spread across the 6^thOctober City’s graffiti even though he has not been mentioned in any presidential debate.

Mukhtar’s alleged candidacy soon spread all over the capital and beyond, where posters can be spotted on the agricultural road between Cairo and the Egyptian Delta.

“Invisible man”

Abdo Salah, the official coordinator of Mukhtar’s campaign asked Correspondents: “Have you heard of the invisible man? Well, he is our candidate!”

Salah explained that Mukhtar was considered the “invisible man” Egyptians heard about under former President Hosni Mubarak who allegedly caused trouble for Mubarak in the mid- 198os, despite the fact that the most powerful man in the army at the time was Mohamed Abdelhalim Abu Ghazala who was the Defense Minister from 1981 – 1989.

But Salah’s campaign official said, or more accurately claimed, that Mukhtar was of a greater inconvenience to Mubarak and was dishonorably discharged from the army in 1989, the same date when Abu Ghazala was assigned as the president’s assistant, in preparation for removing Mubarak from political life.

How serious is the announcement?

Mukhtar’s candidacy announcement is marginally important, at best, and far from the serious dog-eat-dog race being waged by supporters of Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi against any other potential candidate.

However, Mukhtar’s very unofficial campaign stresses his intention to participate in the presidential race although it has received numerous sarcastic comments on social networking websites.

Several former presidential candidates in the year of 2012 have withdrawn their intention for candidacy as they believe that the current presidential elections be a foregone conclusion in favor of Sisi. Nevertheless, announcing a campaign for candidacy is a guaranteed means of publicity, even if a candidate later backs out.  

A habit of dropping out

Salah insisted that Mukhtar has genuine intentions in running and bringing a  change to Egypt, in addition to having a long-term program for the country over the next twenty years, although it “has not been announced yet,” he said.

It is not wonder that doubts about Mukhtar’s earnestness are in question, because he has made a habit of running then dropping out when the going gets tough.

 “He declared his intentions to participate in the first presidential elections in Egypt in 2005,” said Salah, “but he was not included in the competitor’s list against former president Mubarak. At that time, Mukhtar wanted to prove that the 2005 elections were a sham, evident by the fact that the electoral committee refused his candidacy documents.”

Later Mukhtar announced his intention to run for the parliamentary elections in 2010, prior to the revolution, but then dropped out in the end.

Mukhtar also intended to run in the 2012 presidential elections but withdrew at the last minute.

This time however, said Mukhtar’s campaign official, he is serious because he senses “a real democratic atmosphere.”

“Candidacies of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi or Hamdeen Sabahi are mere challenges and it is a battle we are ready to fight,” Salah said.