CAIRO - The Muslim Brotherhood's new presidential candidate, pitched into the race after its first choice was disqualified, promised on Saturday to govern in coalition and to steady Egypt after more than a year of political turmoil.
Mohamed Mursi, 59, the head of the Brotherhood's political party, said he would seek the votes of ultra-conservative Muslims after a popular hardline Salafi candidate was barred too, but he promised to be a president for all Egyptians.
The quietly spoken engineer is trying to make up ground after Khairat al-Shater, a millionaire businessman and top Brotherhood strategist, was blocked from running because of a conviction handed down in former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's era when the Islamist group was banned.
The Brotherhood's broad grass-roots network will help Mursi, but rival Islamists and liberal candidates who served under Mubarak have campaigned longer and can boast better name recognition.
