Mubarak Says He Won't Run for Re-Election

Obama urged him to skip the fall elections
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2011 1:11 PM CST
Updated Feb 1, 2011 3:14 PM CST
Mubarak Says He Won't Run for Re-Election
In this Oct. 6, 1981 file photo, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, right, and Vice President Hosni Mubarak are seen just before soldiers assassinated Sadat.   (AP Photo/Bill Foley, File)

Hosni Mubarak addressed his nation again today, this time promising not to run for another term in the September election, reports Al Jazeera. The Egyptian leader says he intends to remain in office until then and work toward a "peaceful transfer of power." Now the big question: Will it be enough to appease protesters, thousands of whom remain in downtown Cairo? The development comes after President Obama today urged Mubarak, via a US envoy, to step down in the fall, reports the New York Times.

"In all sincerity, regardless of the current circumstances, I never intended to be a candidate for another term," said Mubarak. (More Egypt protests stories.)

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