ElBaradei willing to lead Egypt transition

Presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei said he is willing to head a transitional government in Egypt and withdraw from the presidential race. ElBaradei issued a statement late Saturday saying he would withdraw from the presidential race if asked to form the government "to ensure confidence and total neutrality in leadership of the transitional period," al-Masry al-Youm reported. The Revolutionary Youth Coalition has called for a march in Cairo Sunday to protest the Supreme Council of Armed Forces appointment of Kamal el-Ganzoury to lead the country's transition. Millions of Egyptians are expected to vote Monday in the country's first democratic elections since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. The Supreme Electoral Committee said some 50 million Egyptians are eligible to vote for representatives to the People's Assembly, known as the lower house, and the Shura Council, the upper consultative house, Ahram Online said. Elections for the People's Assembly will be conducted in three stages, starting Nov. 28 and ending Jan.10, 2012. Elections for the Shura Council start Jan. 29 and end March 11, 2012. After a week of bloody clashes between protesters and Egyptian security forces, the death toll rose to 42 Saturday after an unarmed protester was run over by a security vehicle in Cairo.