Cairo:
Egypt's 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak, in power since 1981, is likely to seek re-election next year and serve for the rest of his life, according to US diplomatic cables leaked.
The document released by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks yesterday and posted online by British daily 'The Guardian' also suggests Egypt's 2011 presidential election "will not be free or fair."
"The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2011, and if Mubarak is still alive it is likely he will run again, and, inevitably, win," said the cable from the US embassy in Cairo dated May 2009 and signed by ambassador Margaret Scobey.
"Despite incessant whispered discussions, no one in Egypt has any certainty about who will eventually succeed Mubarak nor under what circumstances," it said.
Mubarak, who underwent surgery in March to remove his gall bladder and a small growth on the intestine, has not yet said whether he will contest the election.
The cable named Mubarak's son Gamal, 47, -- a banker who has risen through the ranks of his father's party -- as a "likely contender" along with intelligence boss Omar Suleiman and Arab League chief, Amr Mussa, a former long-term foreign
minister.
"Mubarak's ideal of a strong but fair leader would seem to discount Gamal Mubarak to some degree, given Gamal's lack of military experience, and may explain Mubarak's hands off approach to the succession question," said the cable.
"Indeed, he seems to be trusting to God and the ubiquitous military and civilian security services to ensure an orderly transition."
The release of the cable follows the November 28 and December 5 parliamentary election in which Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party clinched 420 of 508 seats, bolstering its grip ahead of the presidential vote.