Presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh has declined to take part in the first ever TV debate between Egyptian presidential candidates because of the violent clashes in Abbasseya that killed at least 11. The debate was scheduled for Thursday between Abouel Fotouh and his rival Amr Moussa.
He wrote on his Twitter: “We cannot hold the debate when our sons are drowning in their own blood.”
The debate was going to be moderated by Yosri Fouda, Mona al-Shazly, Hafez al-Marazy, Reem Maged and Amr Khafagy in a joint broadcast by Dream TV and ONTV, co-organized by the newspapers Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Shorouk.
Abouel Fotouh, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Moussa, a former foreign minister under Hosni Mubarak, are seen as the most likely candidates to advance to the runoff.
