(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - "There is no intention to assert control," said Mohammed Morsi, the head of Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Brotherhood’s political wing, on Tuesday.
The FJP announced in a statement on Saturday that the party members had selected Khairat al-Shater, the Brotherhood’s deputy leader, to run in the country's first presidential elections since the popular revolution that toppled former dictator, Hosni Mubarak, last year.
"We are only present in what has been elected...in parliament, in syndicates," Morsi noted, adding, "This is the people's will. Does anyone want to oppose the people's will or prevent it?"
The Brotherhood, which holds almost half the seats in the legislature, had previously declared it would not field a candidate for the elections.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood’s leader, Mohammed Badie, has rejected rumors that al-Shater’s nomination had caused rifts among members of the Islamic group.
"It was a majority [that supported Shater's nomination],” he said.
“You can't imagine the number of faxes and messages I received on my phone showing unprecedented support for this decision," Badie added.
Al-Shater, a professor of engineering and a successful businessman, has released a statement, confirming his nomination in the polls, which are due to be held on May 23 and 24.
The Brotherhood’s decision to have a candidate is likely to escalate tensions with the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which assumed power after Mubarak was ousted in February, 2011.
The party has accused the SCAF of supporting a dysfunctional cabinet, interfering in the judiciary, and stalling reforms, and criticized it for failing to solve the country’s crises.
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