The Irish Times, of all places, has an article up saying that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak intends to resign sometime soon, dissolve parliament and move up presidential elections scheduled for 2011.
We all know the play by now: Mubarak resigns, and parliament approves his son, Gamal, for the presidency. Many perceive recent mass arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members as a pre-emptive strike on the opposition to make Gamal's ascension smoother.
But as we've noted, Gamal isn't popular, and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman could try to steal the crown.
The Irish Times cites the Saudi press for the reports on Mubarak's intentions - Mubarak apparently told Saudi King Abdullah his plans during a recent visit to the country - but we have yet to find a direct source for this news.
Anyway, it seems pretty likely that Mubarak won't let the matter of his transition go to a real election in 2011 (if there is such a thing as a real election in Egypt), and it would help Gamal if he was in power for a time before facing a vote, rigged or not.
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Categories: Egypt, Politics, Regional News
Tags: Egypt, Gamal Mubarak, Hosni Mubarak, Irish Times, Omar Suleiman
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