Al-Azhar presidential elections postponed

Sources at Egypt's Al-Azhar University have confirmed that elections for the institution's new president have been postponed until the end of the current academic year. The committee responsible for developing electoral regulations concluded its meeting without agreement on the criteria candidates must satisfy to stand for presidency. Sources added that Dr Osama al-Abd, the outgoing president, remains at the helm. The quartet committee is being chaired by Dr Abdel-Fattah el-Sheikh, Chairman of the Jurisprudence Committee in the Islamic Research Academy, and former Mufti of the Republic, Nasr Farid Wasel. The other two individuals part of the committee are Hamid Abu Taleb, a member of the Senior Religious Scientists Committee, and Abdullah al-Husseini, a member of the senior scientists. The officials are expected to draw up a list of conditions candidates must satisfy. Dr al-Abd lost his job after a mass outbreak of food poisoning which infected more than 500 students in early April.