Former Mubarak intelligence chief to stand in Egyptian presidential race Omar Suleiman in February 2011: the former intelligence chief has announced his decision to stand in the Egyptian presidential race. Photograph: Mohamed Abdel Maati/EPA/MENA Egypt's presidential race was thrown into further turmoil when a former ally of Hosni Mubarak announced that he had decided to run, and supporters of another candidate flooded Tahrir Square protesting that he was being pushed out by allegations his mother was a US citizen. Omar Suleiman, who was the ex-president's intelligence chief, has inside influence that will make him a likely frontrunner in the elections, to be held on 23 and 24 May. His main opponent is likely to be Khairat el-Shater, candidate of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood. Suleiman, a former general who appeared on television in February 2011 to announce that Mubarak would step down, said earlier this week that he had decided not to run. But he issued the statement on Friday on the state-run Mena news agency saying he had changed his mind after hundreds of supporters held a rally urging his candidacy. "I can only meet the call and run in the presidential race," he said. He had previously blamed organisational and financial constraints for not standing. Suleiman must get 30,000 supporters to sign a petition before he can officially submit his application to stand in order to meet the official filing deadline on Sunday. Meanwhile thousands of supporters of another candidate, Hazem Abu Ismail, took over Tahrir Square on Friday to protest against what they said was a conspiracy brewing against their presidential candidate, regarding the supposed US citizenship of his late mother. Ismail, an Islamist contender who has widespread support from ultraconservative Salafis, initially laughed off the claims. According to the constitutional declaration of March 2011 that passed in a referendum, presidential candidates cannot have another nationality, cannot be married to a foreigner, and cannot have a parent holding another nationality. This referendum passed in part due to strong support from Islamist voters. Ismail later released a terse statement saying that his mother possessed a green card, because his sister had emigrated to the US two decades ago, but she was not a US citizen. Then the New York Times accessed California public records to surmise that she was indeed a US citizen and a registered voter. However, the Egyptian foreign and interior ministries are yet to clarify their position on the matter. "If he doesn't become the president, then God is not pleased with the Egyptian people," said a supporter, Ahmed Maher.