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Thirteen dead in violence since Thursday Protests fuelled by death of 74 in soccer disaster Politicians seek early presidential election Nominations for race to be accepted from March 10: report

By Tamim Elyan and Tom Pfeiffer

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CAIRO — Egypt’s military leadership called for a swift move to a presidential election on Monday and security forces sealed off the Interior Ministry in Cairo from stone-throwing protesters clashing with riot police for a fifth day.

In a sign that the army’s planned transition to civilian rule could be accelerated, the head of the ruling military council, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, called for a quick completion of the election procedures.

“Field Marshal Tantawi stressed the need for quick completion of these procedures and their announcement,” the Egyptian state news agency reported after Tantawi met the head of the constitutional court.

An Egyptian election official said nominations for the presidential election race would be accepted from March 10, according to the semi-official Al Ahram media website.

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Thirteen people have died in the violence which erupted in Cairo and the eastern city of Suez after 74 people were killed at a soccer match, drawing a stinging rebuke of Egypt’s army-backed government.