ElBaradei wins in informal poll

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CAIRO, June 20 (UPI) -- Egyptian diplomat and presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei received the most support in an informal poll by the military council, results indicate.

The ruling military council on its Facebook page asked voters which candidates they supported most in the current field. ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, took first place with more than 19,000 supporters, or more than 30 percent of those participating, Egyptian news agency Al-Masry Al-Youm reports.

The field was varied. Independent candidate Mohamed Selim al-Awa and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq rounded up the middle tier. Outgoing Arab League chief Amr Moussa and former Vice President Omar Suleiman were in the bottom tier.

Presidential elections in Egypt are supposed to occur later this year, although a date hasn't been announced. Presidential hopeful and former member of the Egyptian Parliament Hamdeen Sabbahi said last week that Egyptian voters tended to favor name recognition over platforms.

Sabbahi's name wasn't listed among the candidates in the Facebook survey by al-Masry al-Youm.

Statistical analysis wasn't given for the informal poll on Facebook.