Mubarak Announces He Won’t Run in Next Election

The embattled Egyptian president will not seek re-election in September, paving a way for the election of a successor.

Hours after tens of thousands of protesters filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand his resignation, President Hosni Mubarak has announced that his 30-year reign is coming to an end. Mubarak addressed the nation Tuesday night and committed to not running in elections scheduled for eight months from now. Sources in Washington say that Barack Obama advised Mubarak to withdraw from the September election, presumably believing that not running would allow for a smoother transition to democracy than resigning suddenly and risking the collapse of the Egyptian government. It’s unclear if the move will placate the millions of protesters whose single clear message over the last eight days has been that Mubarak must leave immediately.