CAIRO, July 30 (RIA Novosti, Igor Kuznetsov) - 15 candidates are to stand for president at the Egyptian elections on September 7. A Supreme Election Committee source said that on the first day of its work on Friday 29 July, seven party candidates registered, including incumbent president Hosni Mubarak, who was put forward by the governing National Democratic Party, along with eight independent candidates.
The source said that 13 of the candidates do not have the legally required support of at least 250 parliament deputies and local organizations.
Mubarak has chosen as his emblem the half-moon - two other candidates have chosen the same emblem, but Mubarak was given priority.
If on September 7 none of the candidates gather a majority of votes, on September 17 there will be a second round of voting between the two leaders from the first round.
These will be the first direct alternative leadership elections in the history of Egypt.
77-year-old Mubarak announced his intention to stand for election for a fifth 6-year term.
