The presidential election process in Egypt has been bounded with tension, suspense and abrupt fluctuations since the end of March 2012. The declaration of the Muslim Brotherhood and their political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, on Sunday, March 31 of the nomination of the prominent Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohammed Khairat el-Shater, took many people inside and outside the group by surprise because the Brotherhood announced, upon founding their party in 2011, that its members would not compete for the presidency and that it would not support any Islamist candidates in the organisational sense. The announcement of Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a senior leader in the group and member of their guidance office for twenty-two unremitting years, of his intention to run for president led to the Brotherhood's Shura Council's decision to dismiss him from the group last year.