US President Barack Obama’s Facebook page has been swamped with comments from supporters of a candidate in Egypt’s presidential election. It follows news that Hazem Abu Ismail may be barred from the poll because one of his parents held dual nationality.
Egypt’s electoral commission has said Mr Abu Ismail’s late mother became a naturalised US citizen in October 2006. But his supporters are calling on Mr Obama to support their claim that the immigration paperwork is fraudulent.
Many of the postings are in Arabic, but one comment - posted by several users - said in English: “His mother was a scholar in America, she got American Green Card, but American Authorities are trying to fraud that she was an American citizen.” Another user asked: “If the US administration has official documents, why not display them?”
Egypt’s presidential election rules say that all candidates must have been born in Egypt to Egyptian parents who have never held citizenship of another country, are not dual nationals, and are not married to a foreigner. The head of the Higher Presidential Election Commission (HPEC), Hatem Bajatu, said on Thursday that it had received information that Mr Abu Ismail’s mother had “used an American passport for travel to and from Egypt” before her death and that it would notify the Salafist preacher. –BBC