The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi has made his first public statements since entering the country’s presidential race.
On Saturday, Morsi, 59, pledged to govern in coalition and to steady Egypt after more than a year of political unrest.
“Egypt’s next president can’t be like his predecessor, he can’t be a follower who executes policies put to him from outside,” the presidential candidate said.
Promising to be a president for all Egyptians, Morsi said that he would seek the votes of ultra-conservative Muslims.
Salafist Hazem Abu Ismail, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Khairat al-Shater, and former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman were among those disqualified.
Representatives of the three main candidates filed appeals before the deadline on Monday and are waiting to see whether their appeals will be reviewed. 
Egypt’s presidential election is scheduled to be held in two rounds in May and June.
The military council took power in the aftermath of the last February revolution in Egypt that overthrew long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak’s Western-backed regime.
The SCAF promised to step down after a six-month period and hand over power to a civilian government, a pledge it has so far failed to fulfill, according to Reuters.
